Retired Pakistan Army officer missing in Nepal

[Nunna]

ISLAMABAD – A retired military officer, who had gone to seek employment in Nepal, has reportedly gone missing, sources said on Saturday.

Muhammad Habib Zahir, a resident of Faisalabad, had retired as Lieutenant Colonel from Pakistan Army. Afterwards, he had sent his resume and applied online for a position at a United Nations’ office in Nepal.

Zahir reportedly received a call from man named Mark Thompson from Britain, who offered him a senior position with a salary of three thousand pounds and other fringe benefits.

He readily accepted and arrived in Nepal on April 6 for an interview where he was received by Pakistani national named Javed Ansari, ARY reported.

Zahir went missing from the town of Lumbini, which is just five kilometers from the border with India. He had last contacted his wife after arrival, while his Pakistani and new Nepali mobile phone are now switched off.

The website through which he applied for the job and its Twitter account has been now deactivated. It is reported that the website and the call he received was being operated from India.

A complaint report has been filed over the missing army officer. The government of Pakistan is also in contact with Nepal over the disappearance of Zahir and is using diplomatic channels to gather more evidence.

The Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria on Saturday confirmed the incident, saying the matter has been raised with the Nepalese government and the Pakistani embassy is in contact with the local authorities.

The FO is also in contact with Zahir’s family members who insist he has gone missing, added Zakaria.

https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/former-pak-army-colonel-goes-missing-in-nepal/

 

[boomboomcheema]

http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/382760-Former-Army-officer-Lt-Col-Mohammad-Habib-goes-mis

 

[Gabbar Singh]

This reads like something from a spy novel.

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

Former Pakistan Army officer abducted by RAW: sources

ISLAMABAD: Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was involved in the kidnapping of Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Muhammad Habib Zahir, sources told Geo News on Thursday.

Reports of the former Army officer being abducted by RAW in Nepal emerged hours after the Foreign Office said that it suspected an enemy intelligence agency's involvement in the abduction.

Lt Col (retd) Zahir went missing from Nepal where he had travelled to after being lured with a job offer. He last contacted his family on April 6.

A First Information Report (FIR) registered by his son, Saad Habib, says that Zahir was received by a man named Javaid Ansari at the airport in Kathmandu on April 6.

Habib said that no contact was made by his father after that.

Earlier, a probe by Zahir’s family and friends reportedly showed that he received an interview call from a UK telephone number generated via the internet. According to reports, the website stratsolutions.biz was hosted by BigRock.in, which is registered in India.

Lt Col (retd) Zahir had retired from Pakistan Army in 2014. During his service, Zahir also worked with United Nation’s peace mission for two years. Zahir then joined a Pakistani food company and was currently looking for other job offers.

He was contacted by a man named Mark Thompson who offered him a job which had been listed on the website stratsolutions.biz. Thompson had called Zahir for an interview to Nepal.

On Thursday during the weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria expressed fear that the former Army officer might have been abducted by an enemy intelligence agency.

"We have brought Lt. Col (r) Zahir's case to the Nepali government's attention," Zakaria said. "The Indian prime minister admitted that the country was involved in dividing Pakistan in 1971."

https://www.geo.tv/latest/137943-Former-Pakistan-Army-officer-abducted-by-RAW-sources

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

Probe unearths three Indians behind retired army officer's abduction

ISLAMABAD (Daily Dunya) - The ongoing probe into Pakistan Army’s Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Habib Zahir’s mysterious abduction from Nepal has unearthed involvement of three Indian nationals.

According to available details, the three Indians fabricated entire plot as one of them booked ticket for Habib, second booked his hotel room and third received the abductee at Lumbini airport.

An Indian citizen, Safal Chaudhry, bought ticket from Precious travel for Habib Zahir from Kathmandu. His cell number is 009804815702. Another Indian national identified as Doli Ranchel received the hapless Colonel (retd) Habib Zahir at airport. Then, a lady named Sabu Raju, who worked as marketing manager in company at Kathmandu, booked a room for Habib in Hyatt Regency Hotel.

As per latest disclosures, Colonel (retd) Habib Zahir had posted his CV on LinkedIn, a business- and employment-oriented social networking service, and on United Nations (UN) website for sake of employment. A person, who introduced himself as Mark Thomson, called Habib from Britain.

Mr. Thomson (as he introduced himself) directed Habib to reach Oman on 5th of April and for this purpose a business class ticket of Oman Airways was sent. Habib was greeted by a person who introduced himself as Javed Ansari and the later instructed Habib to reach Kathmandu.

On 6th of April, Habib arrived at Kathmandu, from where he travelled to Lumbini area located 5km away from Indian border. This is the place from where Habib has gone missing.

Sources privy to development reveal that cooperation between Pakistan and Nepal intelligence agencies is underway and startling revelations are being anticipated soon.

http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/384233-Probe-unearths-three-Indians-behind-retired-army-o

 

[adzzy786]

I hope he is ok. This is abduction and hope this is dealt with very promptly

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

If he is with RAW we won't be able to prove that He has been abducted.

India possibly has our monkey. This means if we execute Jadhev they will execute Habib.

 

[tomato]

Just rumors,there is no reliable source to prove that this guy abducted in first place.

 

[ahmedzee]

India said they will go to any lengths to bring kulbushan back. I guess this is any lengths for them. I would blame the Nepali govt for this mess. India using their land to conduct illegal activities.

 

[tomato]

India said they will go to any lengths to bring kulbushan back. I guess this is any lengths for them. I would blame the Nepali govt for this mess. India using their land to conduct illegal activities.

Those comments were made once Kulbhushan sentenced to death.

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

Ex-army officer's mysterious abduction has links to Indian intelligence agencies: sources

LAHORE (Dunya News) - A former army officer, Lt Col Mohammad Habib Zahir’s mysterious abduction in Nepal has links to Indian intelligences, the investigation team of Dunya News revealed.

Last month, Foreign Office confirmed that Habib has been missing since April 6 from the district of Rupandehi in Nepal.

According to Dunya News investigation, the ex-army officer is not present in Nepal. Many Indians have been found involved in the matter as the people who booked Habib’s hotel, ticket and did payments were all Indian nationals.

Habib’s ticket was bought from Precious Travels and Tours Khatmandu by an Indian named Safal Chaudhry. A female identified as Sabu Rajwari made bookings for Habib in Hyatt Regency Hotel. She works as a marketing manager in a Nepalese company.





He first landed at Khatmandu from Oman Airways flight and later arrived at Lumbini’s Bhairahawa Airport via Buddha Airways flight on April 6 at 1 pm and was received by Indian citizen Dolly Ranchel. He was then taken towards Indian border in a white car.

Sources report that the vehicle was present in airport parking since 11 am whereas Dolly, who is not a resident of Nepal, came there on April 4 for this special mission.





Indian nationals involved in the kidnapping

After reaching Nepal, Habib Zahir bought a SIM of a local company, says investigating authorities. His mobile phone continued to receive signals till 2:45 pm. The last signals on his SIM were received from Maya Devi Temple’s tower.

It is pertinent to mention here that Kali Dah border crossing is merely seven kilometers away from the temple.

Lt Col (retd) Muhammad Habib Zahir had been working at Rafhan Mills in Faisalabad after retirement from service in October 2014. Zahir had posted his resume on job portal LinkedIn and on the UN website.

Two months back, he was contacted by a man named Mark Thomson through email and from a UK phone number for a job interview in Nepal on April 6.

The man claimed that Zahir had been shortlisted for the job of vice president/zonal director with a salary package of USD3,500-8,500 per month.

http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/386790-Exarmy-officers-mysterious-abduction-has-links-t

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

New details point to Indian involvement in abduction of former Pak army officer

LUMBINI/ISLAMABAD: New details have emerged in the case of former Pakistan Army officer Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Habib Zahir, who went missing in mysterious circumstances during visit to Nepal last month.

CCTV footage, snapshots of which have been obtained by Geo News, show Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Habib Zahir at the Gautam Buddha Airport in Lumbini, close to the Nepal-India border on April 6. The footage also shows the white car outside the airport which picked up Zahir shortly before he disappeared.



Although no official version has yet been released on the matter, sources say an Indian national identified as Dolly Renchal had come to receive Zahir in the same white car which can been seen in the footage.

The time and date details on the footage show the car parked at the airport at 11:34 AM. The car was there for more than two hours, sources said, waiting for Zahir's flight to land around 2 PM. The CCTV video shows Zahir at the airport at 2:04PM, minutes before his mobile phone stopped responding.



According to sources, Zahir had got a Nepali phone number that was working until 40 minutes after which the signals were lost. The number was last traced near Maya Devi Temple, close to Lumbini Gate.

Lumbini Gate is situated four to five kilometres from the Sonali border crossing point, where no system is in place to check people entering and leaving the city to go to India. Lumbini is situated in Rupandehi district, which has four crossing points that connect Nepal to India.



The geographical location and lack of vigilance in the area where Zahir was last spotted suggest he was picked up by Indian intelligence agencies.

The Nepali government has not yet given an official version on the matter, but sources said the presence of hostile agencies in Nepal cannot be denied.

While speaking to Geo News, Pakistan's ambassador in Nepal, Javed Umrani, said they have been in contact with the Pakistani foreign ministry, but nothing could be said yet.

Trap suspected
The sources also said that the company that had arranged Zahir's visit and offered him a job has not been traced on the internet yet. This is because the company's Twitter account and website are closed.

The retired colonel left for Nepal on April 5, then reached the country's capital, Kathmandu, the next day. From there he went on to Lumbini, close to the Indian border.

He contacted his family last on April 6 and after that, he could not be reached, his family has revealed.

A First Information Report registered by his son, Saad Habib, states Zahir was received by a man named Javaid Ansari at the airport in Kathmandu on April 6.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/140517-CC...lonel-was-at-Lumbini-airport-Nepal-on-April-6

 

[Gabbar Singh]

As Kulbhushan Jadhav case proceeds, Pakistan asks India about Lt-Col Habib Zahir who went missing in Nepal

http://www.firstpost.com/india/as-k...who-went-missing-in-nepal3505171-3505171.html