Armed men abduct Pakistani judge in restive region bordering Afghanistan

A Pakistani judge was abducted on Saturday (Apr 27) by armed men in the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The district and sessions judge was returning from duty when hewas kidnappednear Tank and Dera Ismail (DI) Khan district bordering Afghanistan. News agency AP quoted police officer Faheem Khanassaying that around 15 men on bikes followed ShakirullahMarwat’svehicle as he was travelling towards DI. Before fleeing with the judge, they set the car on fire. Thedriver of thecarwas not harmedin the incident, as per media reports.

No one has claimed responsibility for the act yetbutthe Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, are most likely to get blame.

It’sa rare attack as militants hardly target judges and most often stage attacks on police and security personnel in Pakistan.

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Faheem Khan said a search operation, with help from a counter-terrorism team, has been launched to find thewhereabouts of the judge.

Reacting tothe incident, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi blamed the provincial government for"non-seriousness"in governance and maintenance of law and order.

"(The) CM should tell whyisn'the serious about the establishment of peace and why terrorists are on the loose,"he asked.

He also stated that the abduction of a judge, who mostly travels amid tight security, has induced fears among the masses.

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Meanwhile, Chief Minister Gandapur has issued orders for the safe recovery of the abducted judge.He told the media that emergency measures havebeen takenforMarwat'srecovery andallavailable resources arebeing utilisedfor the task.

Judges have also taken note of the incident and are calling for immediate action in the matter.

Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahimalongwith two otherjudgesheld ameeting and urged authorities to investigate the matter.

(With inputs from agencies)