12/03/2014

Headline Dec 04, 2014/


''' THY GROWING BUSINESS OF 

KIDNAPPING​-RANSOM '''




PROFESSIONAL RESEARCH will show, that everyday in Pakistan, over 160 kidnappings get planned for ransom. 

26 of these make it to the execution stage. 9 succeed one way or the other. And 4 out of these get transacted for ransom.

In India, the figure is much more, by many, many percentage points. And I can go on and on.

The son of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan remains untraced and untracked. Similarly, the son of the  assassinated governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, fares no better.  

WHAT TO DO when a close one is kidnapped.

Just over two years ago,  -when British and American special forces freed four aid workers in Afghanistan, it was celebrated as an act of heroism. But such intervention is rare.

Almost all kidnapping is business and cases are dealt with in business-like manner- using what are known as risk-management firms.

Usually run by former special forces,  intelligence analysts and lawyers, these firms have a good record of bringing kidnap victims home safely if expensively.

Only the rich or the insured can afford rates, which start at  $3,000 per day.

When Judith Tebbutt, a British social worker was snatched in Kenya, one such firm negotiated her ransom, delivered by airplane, Mrs Tebbutt was released shortly afterwards.

When a risk-management is called in, its first step is usually to form a  ''crisis management team''  of family members and colleagues who can look after the victim's interests.

The firm will establish contact with the kidnappers, often through a trusted local. Next it negotiates the ransom   -a delicate business: too high an offer may signal weakness, driving up the price; too low and the gang may hurt the victim to show that it is determined to extort more.

To arrive at an agreed price, which is usually a fraction of the gang's opening bid, can take months, according to  Terra Firma Risk Management, which has  330 cases to its record.

On land the ransom is often delivered by car, with the trusted local following instructions found in a series of dead-letter boxes. Iraqi kidnappers will ask for cash to be dropped at a desert location, detailed at the last moment by mobile phone.

At sea, ransom drops can be made by parachute from an aircraft, by small boat, or through informal money-transfer systems.

Not everyone is willing to pay. When Khalil Dale, a British aid worker was kidnapped in Pakistan, his employer, the International Committee of the Red Cross, refused to offer ransom to the kidnappers who were suspected to be Taliban militants.

Like most NGOs, the Red Cross believes, that payment might set a precedent, endangering workers worldwide.

A little later, Mr Dales body was found in an orchard close to his home in Quetta.

Governments also frown on the payment of ransoms, claiming it fuels global crime. Others add that banning ransom payments brings more attention to the root causes of the kidnap problem, particularly in Somalia. 

Richard Fenning, head of Control Risks, which has 34 offices from Berlin to Bogota, counters that bans are morally indefensible.

When governments cannot protect aid workers, journalists and businesspeople. stopping their friends and loved ones from acting infringes on their liberty.

Risk-management firms profit from the kidnappers   -some are said to charge a percentage of the ransom-.

Still today's hostages  -an estimated 3,000 worldwide-  probably welcome their role, even if it puts others at risk tomorrow.

For sometime now, say, over a few years-  I too have been thinking somewhat along these lines, of starting a *** kidnapping business***. 

Now, the security agencies of Pakistan shouldn't get unduly alarmed. Nor should you:

Well, I have been thinking about kidnapping some bright students, and to hold them to some content contribution. One great way, maybe the only way, of building Sam Daily Times : the ''Voice of the Voiceless''.

Come on  *you all*. Don't force my hand!?

AND I doubt,  if anybody could ever beat that thinking or strategy. Good, old, Christopher!

With respectful dedications to all the people of the world. See Ya all on !WOW! -the World students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless:

''' Students Protection '''

'''Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

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