by MARK MAGNIER
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers cordon off an area during a targeted operation in Karachi. Kidnappings for ransom, sectarian attacks and gang warfare have spiraled since 2008. PHOTO/Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images
Karachi is Pakistan’s economic hub and its crime capital. If you haven’t been kidnapped, you’ve probably been mugged.
W
hen the gunmen slid in the back seat behind Saad Qaimkhani and his friend, the college student thought they were after his cellphone, or maybe the car. Then the men told them to drive.
Almost all private cars in this shoot-’em-up city have an embedded device that allows a security company to lock the engine of a stolen vehicle remotely. In this case, though, when a bystander alerted the security company and the car came to a standstill, the thugs ordered the young men into another car and drove them around Karachi to make sure they weren’t being tailed.
That’s when Qaimkhani knew for sure: He was being kidnapped.
He and his friend were taken to a two-room house near the Northern Bypass, a neighborhood filled with poorly built one- and two-story structures where police are as rare as snow.
Their phones and wallets were taken and their legs chained to a bed. They were interrogated about family wealth and contact numbers, then beaten so their relatives would hear their panic during ransom calls afterward. The three kidnappers demanded $300,000 for the pair.
For six weeks, Qaimkhani and his childhood friend were locked to the bed, sleeping chained together on the mattress, interrupted only by visits to a primitive toilet. The two chain-smokers squabbled over their one-pack daily allowance and ate cheap, bad-tasting food. Occasionally, they were allowed to watch Bollywood DVDs.
Los Angeles Times for more
(Thanks to Asghar Vasanwala)