RIYADH, 18 June — Parents of the missing Pakistani boy Abdul Rahman have expressed dissatisfaction over the way the case is being handled by the Pakistani Embassy and the local police. They point out that investigations so far have drawn a blank.
The 13-year-old boy disappeared mysteriously about three months ago with his motorbike from a city suburb, triggering concern within the local Pakistani community about the alarming rate of child abuse, abduction and addiction among children. The local police earlier detained five persons for questioning but they were released later for want of any conclusive evidence.
No progress was since reported on the case.
The missing boy was the third son from the first wife of Jan Mohammed, who has a total of six sons and one daughter. His family, from Dera Ghazi Khan area of Pakistan, has been living in Suwedi area of the city for many years. Mohammed told Arab News that “the police have asked me to wait for two- three weeks more, probably an indication that the investigating officers will be concluding the case”.
The father is still hopeful of the eventual return of Rahman.
Mohammed said he will suitably reward anyone providing clues to the whereabouts of the boy or helping the investigation. He did not specify the reward. Mohammed was planning to leave for Makkah and Madinah to pray for the child.
Asked about the Pakistani Embassy’s efforts to trace the boy, Rana Matloub Ahmed, community welfare attache, said that “the Pakistani mission has been continuously in touch with the concerned Saudi authorities to solve the case.
“The Saudi authorities have been trying their best to locate the boy”, said the official, who could not provide details.
It was, however, learned that a group of Saudi officers was deputed in a renewed effort to find the boy who went missing on March 13.
Fahmida Ghulam Sarwar, wife of Jan Mohammed, echoed the same views, saying that nothing has emerged out of the investigations so far.
Though the Pakistani community has a different conclusion, a large number of friends and relatives of the boy don’t subscribe to the theory of abduction and killing in Saudi Arabia.
They said the boy may be alive and it is only a question of time before he is found. They cite some recent instances of lost and found cases of children to substantiate this alternative theory.