A comedian who poked fun at the Taliban's practice of apprehending thieves and meting out summary punishment to them was kidnapped from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan while he was entertaining guests at a wedding, according to a media report today.
Nisar Khan had recently written a comedic song about thieves being caught and punished by the militants with lyrics like: "Shave my head, paint my face black; Mount me on a donkey and make fun of me."
Khan was entertaining guests at a wedding at Matani, a suburb of Peshawar, on Monday when around 20 militants entered the 'hujra' or guesthouse where he was performing and abducted him, The Express Tribune reported.
The militants told the gathering that they "needed an entertainer urgently". The incident occurred near a police check point.
"The militants took Nisar away, saying they too needed an entertainer on an urgent basis," a person who was present at the hujra told the daily.
"They told people not to panic and that Nisar is being taken away only for a few days. They said he will not be harmed," the unnamed person said.
According to local residents, Khan often performs at weddings and social events and regularly makes militants and the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam the butt of his jokes.
They said they believed this was the reason why he had been picked up by the militants.
They said Khan had been kidnapped by militants last year too and released a week later.
This time too, they said, they expected he would be freed.
The local residents pointed out that despite the presence of a police check point and several check posts of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary, the security forces took no note of armed men entering the area and fleeing.
Though Khan is known for his humour, some of his songs are serious and portray the despondent situation in the country's northwest.
A popular song by Khan has these lyrics: "There was a festival in the village on Sunday; People were joyful and merry; Suddenly, there occurred a loud blast; Our favourite nazim Abdul Malik was dead; The merry and happy crowd became mournful; My beloved province has been set on fire."
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