Militants and their expanding list of criminal activities
Long spared by the Taliban, the business community in Punjab is now receiving frequent calls from the extortion squad of the TTP. Hefty amounts of money are being demanded through phone calls with untraceable Afghan SIMS. More and more victims are accusing the militants of forcing them to pay huge sums in case they hold their life and business dear. In some cases common criminals were found using the name of the TTP to collect the money. In fact the terrorists and criminals are so mixed up that the distinction between them has become only a matter of semantics. A few days back Ch Nisar suggested that those who kidnapped Shahbaz Taseer and Ali Haider Gilani were not the Taliban but professional criminals seeking ransom. The TTP however had earlier owned indirectly that the two were in the network’s custody but had shown reluctance to release them on the phony ground that they did not consider them non-combatants. The trading community is a soft target because it prefers to pay the extortionists to avoid any hassle. There have been reports of businessmen having been kidnapped and made to pay huge sums but not reporting the matter to police.
Those behind the crime have received encouragement from the PML-N government’s policy of appeasement. This has allowed them to build sleeper cells, the wherewithal to keep a watch on the target’s movements and to pick him up and transport him all the way to distant tribal areas bypassing several check posts. The Punjab government has continued to turn a blind eye to the militants’ activity despite worrying reports and assessments.
In the latest reported case the victims were two Rawalpindi traders who brought their plight to the notice of police after paying Rs1.5 million to those speaking in the name of TTP. Both felt unsafe despite making the hefty payment. Last week an estate agent was kidnapped from Rawalpindi by TTP militants who are demanding Rs50 million for his release. Cracker bombs were set off at the home and office of a businessman in Lahore who had refused to comply with the demands for money. Early this month a boy kidnapped from Sadiqabad was freed by the kidnappers after receiving Rs1.2m in ransom. Ten days back in a rare achievement the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) busted a gang linked with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) which besides acting as hitmen also kidnapped people for ransom. They had released a trader only after he paid Rs20 million in ransom.
It is time the government took notice of the situation. An appeaser, said Churchill, was one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it would eat him last. The extremists are turning their attention to the Punjab government now. It’s time it does something to save itself and the province.