For the last many months, people in various parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been protesting against the nefarious practice of making anonymous phone calls or sending letters by anti-social elements relating to kidnap-for-ransom and extortion. Reports indicate that top businessmen and provincial ministers have received such phone calls and letters. These prominent figures have neither confirmed nor denied such reports.
On October 19, the Provincial Minister for Food, Atif Khan, received a chit to pay eighty lakh rupees within three days failing which he should be ready to face serious consequences. The threat was sent on the letter-pad of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mardan. The minister said that he had duly communicated the contents of the letter to the concerned security agencies, and an appropriate action would hopefully be taken.
Journalist-cum-television anchor Hamid Mir said in a tweet in the afternoon that a major crackdown had been mounted on the defunct TTP, and more than 78 of the suspects had been rounded up. Earlier, the address on social media became viral on October 18 by Abdullah Khan, the Nazim of Matta Tehsil in Swat District. He is the younger brother of the KP Chief Minister, Mahmood Khan. In an emotional appeal, he called upon police to hold an inquiry into the recent incidents of kidnappings in Shangla and Swat districts. At the same time, he appealed to the security forces to check the entry of unwanted elements through the porous borders with Afghanistan.