Dad seeks justice for son slain in Pakistan
Plea after being reunited with family
A Stirling taxi driver is still looking for justice almost four years after his four-year-old son was brutally murdered in Pakistan.
Iftikhar Ahmad, from Riverside, believes a criminal gang had targeted his son Shahryar in an extortion bid.
A British national, Shahryar had been living in Faisalabad with his mother and was abducted outside his grandmother’s home in the city in August 2014.
He was taken to a village 30 miles away where he was brutally beaten and strangled by the thugs.
Iftikhar (45), who has lived in Stirling for 24 years, has recently been reunited with wife Eram Jamil, son Mohid and daughter Anabia in Stirling.
He said: “I thought criminal matters would be straighforward. I thought it would come to court within a matter of months. I wasn’t expecting it to take this long.
“I’m very pleased that my wife and children are safely back home.
“But it has been very difficult to cope with. Shahryar was such a happy little boy. It never leaves my mind.
“I want to see these criminals brought to justice.”
It is thought that political corruption is behind the failure to bring those reponsible to justice.
Stirling MP Stephen Kerr has been involved in bringing the family home since his election in June last year and has been in touch with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Pakistani High Commissioner in London. He has also had discussions with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on the matter.
Mr Kerr said last week: “When I was elected Mr Ahmad came to see me about what happened to his family.
“His wife was in Pakistan. The first objective was to get his wife to the UK and the family reunited.
“The next priority is to get justice for the family and this little boy who was brutally murdered.
“I am trying to use all the levers available to me as an MP to galvanize the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and put pressure on the Pakistani authorities.
“We want the Pakistani authorities to begin to do something to address this massive injustice.
“Now we have got the family together it’s very important to focus all our efforts and inquiries on that.
“Pressure now has to be brought to bear on the Pakistani authorities. I will not let the callous murder of a four-yearold British subject rest.”
It never leaves my mind. I want these criminals brought to justice