PESHAWAR: The extortion calls from unknown Afghan phone numbers have scared a large number of families because the callers repeatedly threaten to target them if the amount was not paid.
Though police officials try to convince those receiving extortion calls that their local network has been smashed and they are not able to harm any of their targets, a large number of people are still worried about security of their families. The scare increases when a house is attacked with explosives in Peshawar or in other places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Many houses were attacked with low- intensity bombs or grenades in the past and even in recent weeks.
“When you approach the local police, they try to tell you that the callers can’t harm anyone anymore. However, one is always worried about his own safety as well as security of kids and other family members,” a local who has received calls from Afghanistan told The News. He requested anonymity to avoid harm.
He pointed out that the police normally cannot provide any help to those receiving calls. He said the cops advise the victims to arrange CCTV cameras to record suspicious activities and restrict their movement. “No one is 100 percent sure that they extortionists cannot harm their targets. This is what forces many to pay the extortion money or to worry about safety of their family for months and even years,” another victim said.
A number of families in the past had to migrate abroad or shift to safer cities such as Lahore and Islamabad after receiving extortion calls. Some of those receiving calls were not even well-off but they remain under threat with frequent calls from Afghanistan.
A large number of affluent people have adopted low-profile in recent years to avoid extortion calls as most of the calls are made to those driving luxurious cars or owning big buildings, factories and businesses.
An official of the KP Police told The News that the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department have arrested a number of local facilitators involved in a number of cases of extortion calls and planting or hurling explosives at houses. He conceded that they have no solution to the extortion calls coming from Afghanistan.
A source said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities on a number of occasions approached the federal government to take up the issue of extortion calls from Afghanistan with the Afghan government that has created a serious law and order problem in the province, especially the provincial capital.
The KP authorities had sent letters on many occasions to the secretary interior to explain that the extortion calls from Afghanistan was one of the major issues haunting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The source disclosed that along with the letters, the authorities sent a complete list of cellular numbers being used by the extortionists based across the border. The letters also mentioned that the major groups involved in extortion are operating from Afghanistan.
“It is requested to take up the matter with the government of Afghanistan through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for dismantling their bases and apprehending the miscreants involved in the menace of extortion,” was a portion of the text of an official letter sent by the then inspector general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Nasir Khan Durrani, to the secretary Ministry of Interior in 2016.
The letter stated that currently 98 percent calls being received originated from Afghanistan where KP Police have no access or jurisdiction to operate. The letter added that there is a lot of discomfort and insecurity in the business community on account of cross-border extortion calls.
The traders, industrialists and a number of well-off people in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been receiving calls for extortion for the last many years. The houses of a few of those who refused to pay extortion money were attacked with bombs. A couple of individuals, who refused to pay, became victim of target killings.
