PTI MPA Sardar Riaz abducted in Mansehra, family says

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA Sardar Riaz from Kolai-Palas district was abducted on Friday in Mansehra, his family said. Armed men intercepted the lawmaker's vehicle and took Riaz and three companions to an undisclosed location, according to Dawn. The reported abduction has raised concern across Kohistan and the northern districts.

Riaz was returning to Mansehra from Abbottabad when the group stopped his vehicle, Dawn reported. The MPA's vehicle was found abandoned on the Karakoram Highway in the Mangal area. His brother, Sher Khan, gave the account to a jirga held in Mansehra immediately after the alleged abduction. According to the family, the lawmaker and his companions were taken away by the armed group, and the vehicle was later left on the roadside.

Khan said the kidnapping had angered people in Kohistan. Kolai-Palas, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hazara division, lies along the Karakoram Highway. The route through Mansehra is a main link between Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan, and any interruption there affects travel to the north.

Dawn based its report on the family's account and did not say whether any group had claimed responsibility or whether police had made arrests. The report did not name the armed men or give further details about the three companions who were taken. Dawn also did not report a ransom demand or any conditions from the armed group.

Riaz represents Kolai-Palas in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The district was carved out of Kohistan and shares a border with Gilgit-Baltistan. The Karakoram Highway, also known as N-35, runs through Mansehra and is used by politicians and officials travelling between Hazara and the northern regions.

No immediate statement from the provincial government or police was reported, and the family has not publicly named any suspect. This is a developing story.