A Saudi woman, reportedly connected with the royal family, has gone missing in Pakistan, leading authorities to file a kidnapping case against a man from the Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) and family sources, the accused, identified as Abul Wahid in the FIR, is also missing. He has been charged under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code for kidnapping or abducting with the intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person.
Senior officials in the province are deeply concerned as the case involves a high-profile Saudi individual, according to Farzana Ali, the Aaj News Peshawar Bureau Chief. Pakistan shares close economic ties with Saudi Arabia, where over two million Pakistanis reside and work.
Sources indicate that the woman’s alleged connection to the royal family is particularly troubling for Pakistani authorities. The FIR was lodged by a Saudi diplomat through an online registration system at the Margalla Police Station in Islamabad. It accuses Abdul Wahid Shahid Khan of kidnapping a Saudi citizen, Hannan Abdullah Al-Bashir, from Sector F-8 in Islamabad. The FIR calls for the arrest of the accused and the recovery of the victim.
Although the victim is referred to as Hannan in the FIR, which is typically a masculine name, police officials in Lower Dir confirm that a Saudi woman is indeed missing. The acting District Police Officer, Rasheed Khan, disclosed that the woman, aged 37, worked as a bank officer, while the accused, aged 22, served as her driver.
It’s revealed that the woman had previously visited Pakistan on a visit visa and had a prior acquaintance with Wahid, prompting his parents to persuade him to send her back to Saudi Arabia. However, she maintained contact with him, and earlier this month, on April 5th, she arrived at Wahid’s family home in Lower Dir, after which both disappeared.
Efforts to locate the woman have been extensive, with the federal government instructing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief to lead the search. Despite their endeavors, authorities have been unable to locate her. There were rumors of a marriage between the Saudi woman and the Pakistani man, but they remain unconfirmed.
Wahid, already married and a father, allegedly had ties to the missing woman. The police have reportedly detained several members of Wahid’s family as part of the investigation.
