KIDNAPPING for ransom took root in Karachi by way of interior Sindh in the late 1980s, where previously livestock used to be abducted and returned after the abductors were paid a price.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) traditionally had the highest rate of kidnapping, though most cases were falsely attributed by police to business/financial disputes. Therefore no proper records were kept, and investigation of cases of kidnapping for ransom, which carry the death penalty, was not thorough.

Besides other exigencies, faulty FIRs and the low rate of detection, prosecution and conviction also led to encouraging mass-scale abductions.

The negligent attitude of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in KP encouraged the spread of this crime to neighbouring regions, where some of the most high-profile abductions have been carried out.

The unchecked transportation of kidnap victims just like that of stolen vehicles to the north of the country and Balochistan is done with great ease. Once inside the safe haven of the Waziristan agencies, ransom demands increase manifold.

Of late, kidnap victims have been driven from Karachi by road accompanied by armed criminals, up to the border of Afghanistan and some through southern Punjab into KP, unchecked along the entire route. We wonder how weapons are smuggled unchecked; here kidnap victims are transported fearlessly by armed abductors who travel hundreds of miles with ease, without any fear of being intercepted or questioned.

Other victims of kidnapping for ransom hail from Quetta, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, Jhang, etc., and are abducted by banned sectarian and other groups.

In Sindh, namely Sukkur, Nawabshah and Larkana, even poor travellers and small traders are kidnapped and moved into the kutcha areas or through isolated routes to adjoining remote areas inside Balochistan.

Sadly, the provincial governments are totally insensitive to their citizens’ safety and security. Cases of kidnapping for ransom are difficult for the police to deal with anywhere in the world, due to the extreme fear of harm to the victim or the family.

One of the greatest achievements of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee since its inception in September 1989 was winning the confidence of the victims’ families. Working with the police and intelligence agencies led to busting many notorious gangs of kidnappers at regular intervals involved in the abduction of businessmen and schoolchildren.

By 1992, a detection rate of 80pc was achieved increasing to over 90pc by 2001, meaning criminal gangs were identified, apprehended and killed in encounters during raids to rescue the victims. Those apprehended were convicted after due process of law with the help of privately retained criminal lawyers notified as public prosecutors, funded and pursued by the CPLC ensuring quality investigation leading to their convictions.

Today, across the country, including Karachi, the detection rate has fallen below 12-15pc. The non-registration of FIRs, no authentic data, negligent investigations, a low rate of detection, lack of supporting and credible evidence leading to lighter sentences if convicted and increasing acquittals are serious anomalies which have led to the spread of this crime across the country.

Kidnapping for ransom is the easiest and largest source of funding for terrorists, through which they purchase explosives and sophisticated weapons, develop IEDs, recruit informers and reward the families of suicide bombers with monthly stipends. Short-term abductions are settled within the day. Frequent calls need proper guidance from the LEAs to safely retrieve the victim with least ransom paid or help bust the gang.

In cases of children’s abduction, the involvement of drivers, guards and maids is most common as children are used to them. It is essential to do a thorough background check of all domestic staff with their previous employers and keep their latest photographs and CNIC with Nadra verification.

Contrary to perceptions, most kidnapping for ransom cases are randomly carried out. A gang may prey on a person who may be at the wrong location at the wrong time. The car the victim is travelling in is considered additional booty.

They may start their demand with Rs10-50m, but settle for 5-10pc of the amount, depending on the negotiator’s level of confidence and nerves to withstand threats and professionally carry out the negotiations.

Nowadays victims are being taken to areas within Lyari, making it difficult for LEAs to raid and recover them. A recent raid by the Rangers led to the recovery of many victims; such ‘no-go’ areas are a perpetual threat to law and order. Planned and targeted kidnappings are masterminded by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other religious and political militant/criminal groups across the country. Dealing with these elements requires the advice of trained investigators and negotiators (who presently do not exist). The victims may not necessarily be high-profile, but are from wealthy and well-established families.

In one recent case, reference to the victim’s wealth was made quoting the balance sheet of the company, wherein a lot of disclosures are mandatory and can be used against the victim. In the prevailing circumstances, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan should consider an alternative and amend their rules to provide the same on written request, to be sent to the shareholders’ postal address.

Unfortunately, kidnapping for ransom is such an issue because we never took serious steps to revamp and strengthen the criminal justice system for the safety of our citizens.

Ransom is the main source of funding for leading terrorist groups and the issue needs to be specially handled by a select counterterrorism institution, with all the technological resources and data to identify patterns and locations and apprehend the militants during the long period of hostage negotiations.

We facilitate the Taliban by failing to follow the cash trail of local and foreign transactions and intercepting the funds collected through kidnapping, extortion and bhatta — the subject of a subsequent article — by different political and religious parties and mafias with impunity. All such gangs are a combination of different ethnic and sectarian elements.

Only a humane political leadership can address this burning issue with strict enforcement of the law as was envisaged by the Quaid.

The writer is former chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee.