Pervaiz Masih says he's lucky to be alive after Taliban abduction
Catholic MP tells of harrowing Taliban ordeal
Pervaiz Masih with his wife and children
- ucanews.com reporter, Peshawar
- Pakistan
- June 1, 2012
At first, Pervaiz Masih thought he was the victim of a simple carjacking when three men forced their way into his vehicle. That was until one of them jabbed a syringe into his left shoulder.
“I opened my eyes in a small room. The only thing visible in the dim light was a computer in front of my bedstead,” he said, stroking his hand against the worry lines on his forehead. “I could sense it was morning from the sound of the azaan [call to prayer].”
With the pictures of former members of Pakistan’s National Assembly hanging behind him, Masih recalled his terrifying 17-day ordeal at the hands of the Taliban.
“They forced me to watch Jihadi movies, and videos showing the beheadings of foreigners and how they groomed suicide bombers,” said Masih. “All that severely conflicted with my religious beliefs. I was often beaten just for unplugging the computer.”
The 46-year-old Catholic lawmaker is one of the lucky few who have survived a kidnapping for ransom by the Taliban, a flourishing trade in present-day Pakistan.
Security agencies say the Taliban has increasingly targeted high-profile personalities in a bid to raise funds for their operations in the insurgency-hit northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders Afghanistan.
Media reports say about 106 kidnapping cases were recorded last year and there are still five foreigners that remain in the hands of their captors.
The kidnapped are usually taken to the tribal regions that serve as a sanctuary for the Taliban and other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
“I was given two meals a day – the evening chapatti was usually the bigger,” said Masih. “They [his captors] would condemn US drone attacks in the area. Different people would come and bargain over my price – I knew that the police could not save me.”
At one point, he said, they put a businessman from Lahore in his cell for a couple of hours but the man’s family could not arrange the huge ransom that was being demanded of them.
“They took him away and tortured him with hot iron rods,” said Masih.
His own family had to pay two million rupees (US$21,336) for his release, a process that was filled with fear and uncertainty, he recalls.
“The original demand was for seven million,” said the father of four. “I was given 15 days to pay the difference – my wife had already sold a house, a car and her gold jewelry.”
The day they struck the deal, Masih was blindfolded and then left at a bus stop in Bannu district near Peshawar with 200 rupees in his pocket.
He finally arrived home late one night last week. Relatives have since flocked to his house with garlands, so too has Bishop Humphrey Peters of Peshawar and a Catholic priest.
The only disappointment following his release, says Masih, is that the Catholic school attended by his two sons has threatened to expel them for their prolonged absence after their father’s return.
Related reports
ICRC pulls out of two cities
Drone attacks pause favors Church
“I opened my eyes in a small room. The only thing visible in the dim light was a computer in front of my bedstead,” he said, stroking his hand against the worry lines on his forehead. “I could sense it was morning from the sound of the azaan [call to prayer].”
With the pictures of former members of Pakistan’s National Assembly hanging behind him, Masih recalled his terrifying 17-day ordeal at the hands of the Taliban.
“They forced me to watch Jihadi movies, and videos showing the beheadings of foreigners and how they groomed suicide bombers,” said Masih. “All that severely conflicted with my religious beliefs. I was often beaten just for unplugging the computer.”
The 46-year-old Catholic lawmaker is one of the lucky few who have survived a kidnapping for ransom by the Taliban, a flourishing trade in present-day Pakistan.
Security agencies say the Taliban has increasingly targeted high-profile personalities in a bid to raise funds for their operations in the insurgency-hit northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders Afghanistan.
Media reports say about 106 kidnapping cases were recorded last year and there are still five foreigners that remain in the hands of their captors.
The kidnapped are usually taken to the tribal regions that serve as a sanctuary for the Taliban and other terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.
“I was given two meals a day – the evening chapatti was usually the bigger,” said Masih. “They [his captors] would condemn US drone attacks in the area. Different people would come and bargain over my price – I knew that the police could not save me.”
At one point, he said, they put a businessman from Lahore in his cell for a couple of hours but the man’s family could not arrange the huge ransom that was being demanded of them.
“They took him away and tortured him with hot iron rods,” said Masih.
His own family had to pay two million rupees (US$21,336) for his release, a process that was filled with fear and uncertainty, he recalls.
“The original demand was for seven million,” said the father of four. “I was given 15 days to pay the difference – my wife had already sold a house, a car and her gold jewelry.”
The day they struck the deal, Masih was blindfolded and then left at a bus stop in Bannu district near Peshawar with 200 rupees in his pocket.
He finally arrived home late one night last week. Relatives have since flocked to his house with garlands, so too has Bishop Humphrey Peters of Peshawar and a Catholic priest.
The only disappointment following his release, says Masih, is that the Catholic school attended by his two sons has threatened to expel them for their prolonged absence after their father’s return.
Related reports
ICRC pulls out of two cities
Drone attacks pause favors Church
