kidnapping turned into business

FOR the common man, kidnappings may be agony but they`re business for those who conduct them. Sindh has turned into a haven for criminals; other businesses may have become non-profitable or loss-incurring, but this one is on the rise because it needs no investment or hard workand yields more profit.

. . It is also low-risk in the sense that the institutions responsible for law and order and therecovery of hostage do nothing.

A special report by this newspaper reveals that around 44 people are still in the clutches of their abductors.... Qamar Janwari, a transporter of Mehar, and his nephew were kidnapped but the police remain clueless even 50 days later; the kidnappers demanded Rs40m.

Ali Murad Chandio, a lecturer of the degree college, Mehar, was kidnapped six months ago but has not been located. The kidnappers have threatened to kill him unless a ransom of Rs5m is paid.

These incidents reveal how the dacoits` demand is not just one or two lakhs but starts from Rs5m and the fig-ure goes up. In case of nonpayment, they issue threats and in some cases they kill the hostages. Those who can afford it have their loved one freed. Those who can`t are worried. But why should even those who have money hand it over to criminals?.

Many doctors were kid-napped because they were earning good amounts due to their expertise. Nearly all such doctors were freedafter paying ransom since no institution took any effective measure for their recovery.

Even where the authorities took action, it was only to expose their inefficiency Dr Aftab Qureshi ... being an example. There are reports that due to the increasing incidence of kidnapping, some specialist doctors bid farewell to their motherland and settled abroad.... This is injustice which we are committing against ourselves.

Good people will leave and only those will be left here who can either not afford to go abroad, or are criminals.