'Be it Chaman, or its districts Qilla Abdullah and Gulistan, all are at mercy of these armed gangs of dangerous criminals. I am receiving threats on phone from these criminals who warn me that if I will disclose their names and name them in FIR, they will again kidnap me or my family even if I hide somewhere,' Mahmood told Dawn.com in an exclusive interview from Qilla Abdullah on Friday.
 
The defender said stories about Chaman and its adjoining areas being 'symbol of peace' were nothing but deception and not a single soul living in those areas was safe.
 
'These stories and movies showing Chaman or nearby regions peaceful is all trash. Just imagine, I am an international player and well-known in my hometown Qilla Abbdullah and yet my life, property and family are not safe. You can imagine what would be the situation of a common man.'
 
'These criminals cannot be controlled by levies or local police. I would urge the authorities to launch a massive army operation to get rid of these thugs and criminals. Now the situation is that I have been in my house as a prisoner because of fear of being kidnapped since last Monday when I was recovered.'
 
'Kids from our family have not been to school because of this situation since Monday. We cannot go outside our home as we may get killed or kidnapped. Now I have two options. Either I would go to some foreign consulate to ask them for asylum in their country or, as a last resort, I would pick up a Kalashnikov (rifle) and become a criminal like them,' said the dejected player.
 
Narrating his ordeal, Mahmood said he was kidnapped from Quetta-Chaman road by six people in the car while he was on his way to Nadra office on June 29 at 11.00am. He said he was then taken towards Afghan border, while during the journey the kidnappers changed cars.
 
'When we reached Frontier Corps checkpost at about 8.45pm near Pakistan-Afghan border, there were four kidnappers in the car. They decided to be on foot then and kidnappers had their guns trained at me. But when they were challenged by FC people, the three of them ran away, while one started firing at the FC personnel. As his rifle got jammed, I tried to snatch his weapon and it was then FC had the chance to arrest him,' said the player.
 
Mahmood said although all the kidnappers were locals, they may have accomplices and supporters in Afghanistan also. He claimed criminals on both sides of the border operate in connivance of each other.
 
The full-back said he had lodged an FIR with the police, naming seven people, but refused to disclose the names because of fear of retaliation from the kidnappers' accomplices.
 
There are reports that Mahmood was kidnapped after his father failed to pay the money he had borrowed from some individuals. But the player claimed that he was kidnapped for ransom.
 
'The arrested man has identified himself as Mohammad Ramzan. My father doesn't owe money to anybody. In fact, it is a gang of criminals which kidnaps affluent people. They (kidnappers) had told my father that they had sold the piece of land which is my father's property. They wanted my father to hand over the property documents to the kidnappers. He refused and I was kidnapped.'
 
'There is no law and order in Chaman and adjoining areas. My kidnappers told me that I play football at KMC (CDGK) stadium in Karachi , how many family members I have, my house address and all personal details. If they had some money dispute they would have gone to police. In 2007, NBP team was also stuck in roadblock by criminals in Chaman to force law enforcement agencies to release their accomplices', he claimed.
 
Mahmood said he had been married eight months ago and hardly been home for a month since then because of football activity. The defender was not sure whether he would be able to join national camp starting from July 6 in the present circumstances.
 
Interestingly, a group of amateurs had recently screened in Karachi a documentary 'The Last Refuge of Afghans' depicting Chaman as peaceful football-loving town.
 
Abdul Qayyum Khadakoo, founding member of Afghan Club, had argued that Chaman had always been a peaceful region, saying neither people in Chaman displayed weapons nor one could find drug peddlers or drug addicts on the streets.
 
'Abdul Qayyum, who is also naib nazim of Chaman, never contacted me to ask about my well-being after I was kidnapped. I met him when I went to record my statement in the court and had to wait under the sun for three hours. But he never asked me if I need help' Mahmood alleged.