MANSEHRA: A group of armed men allegedly abducted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA from Kolai-Palas district, Sardar Riaz, and whisked him away to an undisclosed location on Friday, his family claimed.

MPA Riaz was on his way back to Mansehra from Abbottabad when an armed group intercepted his vehicle and took him and his three companions away. The lawmaker’s vehicle was later found abandoned on the Karakoram Highway in the Mangal area, Sher Khan, brother of the MPA, told a jirga held here immediately after the alleged kidnapping.

“The kidnapping of MPA Mr Riaz has enraged the people of Kohistan, and we demand that the police lodge an FIR against the accused and ensure his early recovery,” Maulana Attaur Rehman, a religious scholar, told the jirga.

“Mr Riaz didn’t challenge the government’s writ, and his kidnapping has worried the family,” Maulana Rehman said.

PTI workers at the jirga demanded that the police ensure his early recovery.

Meanwhile, PTI deputy provincial president Kamal Saleem Swati also condemned the alleged kidnapping of MPA Sardar Riaz, and demanded registration of an FIR into the incident.

“We demand that the Hazara DIG Nasir Mehmood Satti order an FIR of the incident,” he said, while speaking to reporters here.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2026