Girl’s claim sparks international investigation

LONDON: The claims of a woman who says she spent 10 years in forced confinement somewhere in Pakistani tribal areas took a mysterious turn after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that Naheeda Bi’s family contacted the FCO only in 2007.

Speaking to The News, an FCO press officer confirmed that they do not have any record relating to Naheeda Bi’s case predating 2007 but it has been confirmed that following her claims an international investigation is on.

Naheeda Bi, 28, from Glasgow, has told the police and media that she was held hostage in April 2002 at a terrorist camp in a tribal area after her unknown abductors seized her at gunpoint from the highly secured Islamabad airport, now named after Shaheed Benazir Butto. Bi claims she was returning after holidays when the kidnappers pounced on her and took her to slave labour camps where she worked on a number of jobs, including polishing the weapons along with other abducted women and children.

Her account of events surrounding her ordeal -- yet unverified and under scrutiny -- has won Bi many sympathisers but family sources and community members are already casting doubts on the chain of events.

Only a couple of weeks ago, a young Briton Sahil Saeed was kidnapped in Jhelum and that led to outrage both in Pakistan and Britain. Sahil’s family are thankful to the full assistance provided by the federal and provincial government of Pakistan.

In Bi’s case, the family seems to have been reluctant in either pursuing the case or campaigning for her release. Authorities admit that the family’s silence makes the whole case very unusual and arises many questions. Bi has claimed that her uncle who went to the airport for her aid was also kidnapped and both of them were released together.

A reliable witness who has seen the girl in the last two days told The News Bi was in completely good health and didn’t give any impression that she was fragile or in unstable condition. This is in strong contrast to the picture portrayed by the local media.

Bi now believes she was held in the Swat valley suggesting that her abductors may have released her after the successful Army operation against the militants by Pakistan Army, which also forced many criminal gangs to flee the area. Bi and her uncle were dumped somewhere in Dera Ghazi Khan by her kidnappers, according to her claim.

The UK newspapers have been quick in describing the Pakistani police as one of the most corrupt police forces of the world but thousands of Britons of Pakistani origin, who travel to and from Pakistan every week, simply do not relate to the kind of experience Bi went through.

Sources in Bi’s family on condition of anonymity have said that there is more to Bi’s 10 years in Pakistan than meets the eye and there is a lot that the family needs to answer for. Authorities have confirmed that Strathclyde police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, FCO and Pakistani foreign office are in contact with each other over this case.

The FCO spokesperson said that it was only in 2007 that Bi’s brother indicated to the FCO that she had been missing since 2000 and he was trying to trace her. The spokesperson added: “We gave him the appropriate advice regarding reporting a missing person based on the information he provided. We are now aware that there was a letter between Keith Vaz, FCO Minister and Maria Fyfe MP in 2000 which relates to Ms Bi’s case. We are in contact with our High Commission in Islamabad to confirm what assistance was provided at that time.

“On 28 May 2010, Strathclyde police informed us that the family had been contacted by Bi’s abductors and that the family were travelling to Pakistan; FCO consular staff made contact with the family on 29 May and provided appropriate consular assistance to the family and to Ms Bi on her release.”