MARDAN, Nov 22 Unidentified men kidnapped a shopkeeper here on Friday evening.

Residents said that Hayat Khan, who was running a sweets shop in Shergarh bazaar, was going hoe along with his brother on a motorcycle when unidentified men waylaid them. They kidnapped Hayat while his brother was told to go away.

Close relatives said that the kidnappers had contacted Hayat's family and demanded Rs5 million ransom for his release.

Meanwhile, MNA Maulana Qasim has given 24 hours deadline for the recovery of Hayat and said if he was not recovered in the given time, the locals would come out on the road to protest the kidnapping.

CONVERTED A Christian man and a woman of Mardan city converted to Islam at the hands of Maulana Attaullah Shah and they were renamed as Raj Mohammad and Ryan. Their Christian names were Rajoo Maseeh and Rehana Maseeh.

The couple told reporters that they accepted Islam according to their wishes and no one had forced them to convert.