Pakistani man seeks govt help to recover son from Nigerian terrorists

MULTAN: A father has appealed to the government to safely recover his son from the captivity of Nigerian terrorists.

The father came to know about the abduction of his son Dr Abuzar Afzal through social media when the terrorists released video statements of kidnapped persons. Afzal is a resident of Multan Zakariyia Town and was serving a Nigerian company as general manager. He has done his PhD in Microbiology from the Faisalabad University.

The Nigerian terrorists abducted Afzal and others for the release of their accomplices involved in a passenger train attack. Afzal said in his video message that he was abducted on March 28, along with 62 others.

He said he was in a difficult situation. Afzal has also worked as sub-inspector with the Anti-Narcotics Force. He resigned from ANF in 2020 and went abroad. Talking to The News, his father Muhammad Afzal Sheikh said his son went to Nigeria in 2020 after he received a job offer.

He said they repeatedly tried to contact the Pakistan Embassy in Nigeria and requested the Foreign Ministry for help. A call came from the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. The FO assured safe recovery of Afzal who has a wife and two children. He appealed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to play their role in the safe recovery of his son.

Afzal’s mother Abida Bibi said the terrorists had threatened to kill her son. "We will start killing the kidnapped if our members are not released in seven days," she quoted the terrorists as saying. The terrorists had attacked a passenger train headed to the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna from Abuja on March 28.