LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Aug 29: Activists of Lashkar-i-Islam on Tuesday picked up another outlaw involved in a number of kidnappings from Tirah valley, sources said.

Yaghistan Zakhakhel was wanted by the Khyber Agency political administration for the kidnapping of three Nespak engineers and at least three school students.

Yaghistan had gone into hiding in June after the recovery of Nespak engineers Jasim Ashraf, Asad Bashir and Muhammad Yousuf. They had been abducted by Yaghistan Zakhakhel and his gang from the construction site of Bara Dam on Jan 27.

The Lashkar-i-Islam had since then issued death warrant of Yaghistan. Mangal Bagh, the self-proclaimed amir of Lashkar-i-Islam said on an FM radio channel on Tuesday night that Yaghistan had been picked up by his men during “a routine search” at one of their checkpoints in Tirah valley.

Zakhakhel resorted to crimes after the Bara administration arrested his elder brother Muhammad Khan and his accomplice Lal Baz for kidnapping a Malikdin Khel businessman Mian Khan from Speray Dam in 2004. The two had been sent to Peshawar prison after the Khyber Agency administration sentenced them to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment separately.

In order to secure the release of his brother, Yaghistan abducted a Sikh student Gurjeet Singh from Bara. Later, Gurjeet Singh was handed over to the administration by Yaghistan after he was assured that his brother and his colleague would be freed. When the local administration did not abide by its promise, Yaghistan kidnapped another student Nauman in January 2006 who was a nephew of Khalid Abbas who was then the Superintendent of Peshawar prison. Yaghistan’s brother Muhammad Khan and his colleague Lal Baz were released for the recovery of Nauman in March 2006.

Yaghistan and his accomplices were also behind the last year’s kidnapping of local student Sanaullah and Sahir Afridi from Bara. The two were later handed over to their parents after their parent paid ransom money.

The Khyber Agency political administration, assisted by a Zakhakhel jirga, demolished Yaghistan’s house a few months ago to punish him for his alleged involvement in unlawful activities.

Meanwhile, the Lashkar-i-Islam freed an outlaw Hayat Khel after his relatives paid a fine of Rs600,000. Hayat Khel was ‘captured’ by the Lashkar on Monday night in Bara

The local administration has declined to comment about the future of the two outlaws nabbed by Lashkar-i-Islam during the past two days. The two men -- Yaghistan Zakhakhel and Niaz -- are wanted by the local administration and the Peshawar police in a number of abduction for ransom, murder and robbery cases.

The Lashkar-i-Islam had earlier set free a gang leader of kidnappers Sial Khan, elder brother of Niaz, after he assured that he would desist from criminal activities. Since then, Sial Khan is roaming in Bara despite warrants for his arrest.