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CNN Live At Daybreak

Karachi Has History of High-Profile Kidnappings

Aired February 18, 2002 - 05:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now for an update on Daniel Pearl. Police in Pakistan say they are searching throughout the country for a key suspect in the kidnapping of the reporter, but so far, they say there is no breakthrough.

In the meantime, a former hostage speaks out about his ordeal in Karachi.

As CNN's Chris Burns reports, it's a city with a history of kidnappings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Asif Misbah's family owns a pharmaceutical company in Karachi. Their villa is one of the gated, guarded compounds in the upscale Clifton neighborhood.

He was a prime target for one militant group four years ago in this huge port city long plagued by kidnappings, including that of American Daniel Pearl.

(on camera): It was right here on this street where Asif Misbah was stopped by what he thought were police. After all, they had on uniforms, and the car had government plates. But Asif soon found out it was all a trap.

(voice-over): The bogus police officers told Asif he was wanted for questioning.

ASIF MISBAH, FORMER HOSTAGE: They just asked me to be patient, and this thing will be sorted out once we get to that police station.

BURNS (on camera): And it wasn't a police station, right?

MISBAH: It wasn't a police station.

BURNS: What was it?

MISBAH: It was actually an alley, and then they informed (ph) me, and then they blindfolded me, transferred me to another car. And then they shifted me to some other location.

BURNS (voice-over): Police raided the first safe house, but found only police uniforms and a pile of bandages the kidnappers used to take pictures of Asif.

MISBAH: They insisted that I don some bandages and other, you know, makeup so that they could give the impression to the family that I was being beaten up or physically abused.

BURNS: Meanwhile, a citizen's action group aided police in the search. They helped Asif's family negotiate with the kidnappers, who demanded a ransom of 500 million rupees, about $8 million, or else, they said, they would kill him.

Jamil Usif (ph) is a textile businessman heading the citizen's police liaison committee. This graph shows how kidnappings in Karachi peaked at more than 80 in one year, before Usif's group took action. With easy money the primary motive, hostage-taking was a virtual industry in Pakistan's biggest economic hub.

JAMIL USIF, CITIZEN'S POLICE LIAISON COMMITTEE: It is still the hub, so naturally kidnappers (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BURNS: Usif's group now helps tracks down Pearl's captors, whose motives seem to be more political than financial.

Operation Asif tightened its dragnet by tracing the kidnappers' phone calls and making arrests. After a month in captivity, Asif was freed, disguised in a woman's robe.

MISBAH: So when I took off the burqua, I saw people looking at me. And they were surprised like anything to find a bearded person, you know, inside the burqua.

BURNS: Asif had been married to Eeman for barely two months, when he was kidnapped. Her advice to Mariane Pearl?

EEMAN MISBAH, ASIF MISBAH'S WIFE: I would just ask her to keep hope and to have faith and to hold on and to pray as much as she can.

BURNS: There is sadly a lot of that kind of advice here in a city that has long struggled against a sinister trade.

Chris Burns, CNN, Karachi, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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