Traders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa express concern over kidnappings, extortions, seek meeting with Imran Khan

The business community in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have expressed concern over kidnappings and extortions. Traders from the Insaf Traders Wing (ITW) have urged the PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan to hold a meeting to address the issue, The Dawn English newspaper in Pakistan reported.

The business community in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have expressed concern over kidnappings and extortions. Traders from the Insaf Traders Wing (ITW) have urged the PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan to hold a meeting to address the issue, The Dawn English newspaper in Pakistan reported. The traders said that the information about such incidents had been given to the highest provincial government officials but no action was taken. The Dawn reported quoting a letter from ITW dated December 12 "I would like to bring to your kind attention that extortions and kidnappings have started again in KP, especially in Peshawar."

The letter further said that the houses of the Awami National Party Senator Hidayat Ullah and former provincial minister Haji Muhammad Javed had also been targeted. The concerning letter to the authorities was signed by an ITW leader Atif Haleem, according to The Dawn. Haleem said that the residents and the business community were worried about these incidents and his father had fallen victim and was killed in 2016 when they refused to pay money.

The Dawn reported quoting a source from ITW who wished not to be named, that the business community is shifting from the province due to the worsening situation of KP. As they are threatened to face grave consequences if they fail to pay the extortion money. The Dawn quoted Senior Superintendent Of Police (SSP) operations Kashif Aftab Ahmad Abbasi that the cases were reported to the provincial police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to investigate the cases. The CTD had arrested 60 this year under extortion charges Abbasi said.

Previously, Two Sikh shopkeepers were gunned down by unidentified terrorists in the Bata Tal bazaar in Peshawar. Media reports said the terrorists had escaped after the targeted killing. In a separate incident, three goldsmiths were kidnapped and killed and their bodies were found a few days back in the Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan tribal district. People from various tribes have held protests over the past six days over the increasing lawlessness in Bannu.

A large number of people protested calling on the government to restore peace and put an end to lawlessness, according to The Nation report. All business markets and trade centres in Bannu remained closed to hold protests over the worsening situation of law and order in the district. Police personnel in large numbers arrived at the site in order to control the situation. Protesters set up camp outside the Cantonment Police Station at Allahwala Chowk. Engineer Malik Ehsan Khan, Council of Islamic Ideology member Maulana Naseem Ali Khan and other elders led processions from various parts of Bannu to the Allahwala Chowk. (ANI)

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