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| India-Pakistan |
| Abduction of 16 Christians: 'Christians' house used to be madrassa' |
| 2008-06-23 |
| The rented building from where 16 Christians were kidnapped in the Banarasabad area of Academy Town last night had previously been a madrassa, sources told Daily Times on Sunday. A visit to the compound reveals fading Quranic verses written on the walls. Local sources told Daily Times that the madrassa was named Madrassa Salman Farasi, and had in the past been run by an Arab. The sources said the kidnapping could be linked to the use of a madrassa as a residence for Christians. The occupants of the madrassa closed the school 15 years ago and left the area for good, the sources said. They said the property was still owned by the Arab who was married to a woman from nearby village. Haji Siraj, who had rented the building to a group of the Christians several years ago, had in turn rented the building from the relatives of the Arab for Rs 6,000 per month. They said that Siraj had further rented it to the Christians and up to eight families were now living in the compound. They said that Siraj, still held by militants, was a clerk at the Pakistan Tobacco Board. Many of those abducted are poor and work as sweepers in different government departments, and said that they had not received any previous threats to vacate the building. NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said that the abductees had been living in the building for years and kidnapping them was a challenge to the writ of the State, which would not be tolerated. |
| Posted by:Fred |