Colombo, Nov 4 — The involvement of Pakistani nationals in kidnapping cases abroad demands scrutiny because if people from a particular country are repeatedly accused of severe crimes abroad, the international community must ensure the issue is addressed carefully and holistically, a report has detailed.
People from Pakistan have been implicated in abduction cases in several countries, including Cambodia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Turkey and Greece. Pakistani nationals account for the largest nationality group among kidnappers in the world, as per evidence of their involvement and arrests in high-profile cases, according to a report in Sri Lanka-based 'Daily Mirror'. Notably, Indians are the biggest victims of these kidnappings, just as they are victims of the bloodshed perpetrated by Pakistan-based terrorist groups.
Pakistan already faces scrutiny from the global community over terrorism and cross-border militancy. So, the involvement of Pakistani citizens in kidnappings abroad raises questions over Pakistani nationals' conduct and whether Pakistani soil has become fertile ground for major crimes.
In the latest case, Ethiopian police arrested three Pakistani nationals on charges of kidnapping Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, where victims were held hostage and kidnappers demanded ETB 15-30 billion from their families. In August, Pakistani citizens played a key role in the kidnapping of Indian nationals in Kenya. Five of the accused were from Pakistan who kidnapped Indian nationals shortly after they arrived in Kenya, according to a report in Daily Mirror.
Pakistani nationals were responsible for kidnapping five Indians and demanding INR four million, according to Thailand police. Pakistani nationals have been involved in the same offences in Cambodia and Turkey also. South African police have arrested two Pakistani nationals for abducting a Pakistani businessman.
Similarly, Pakistani kidnappers lured a victim with a job offer in Nigeria. In 2015, four Pakistani nationals were arrested in Greece on suspicion of abduction and asking EUR 5000 from their family. As many as two Pakistani nationals were arrested after a Bangladeshi businessman was arrested in Cape Town, according to the report.
In September 2025, a naturalised United States citizen from Pakistan residing in Wayne County, Michigan, was charged with attempted kidnapping of a minor child, according to the federal authorities.
The US Attorney Jerome F Gorgon Jr., accompanied by Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stentz of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit, announced that a criminal complaint had been unsealed charging 46-year-old Pakistani-origin man Shahzad Hameedi.
According to the criminal complaint, Hameedi began dating a single mother in Windsor, Canada, under the alternate name Sheraz Hameed. After she restricted his access to her minor child, Hameedi embarked on an operation to kidnap the child in June 2025.
“The defendant’s alleged plan to kidnap a young child by sneaking across the border and entering Canada, breaking into a mother’s home at night, strangling her and then assaulting her innocent, young child two days later is diabolical. No parent or child should ever be subjected to this wickedness. We will bring the full force of the law against violent predators.” US Attorney Gorgon said.
"The repeated appearance of Pakistani nationals in international kidnapping cases does warrant scrutiny. This is all the more concerning because the suspects are from Pakistan, which is alleged to be the source of the largest group of criminals and militants," the report in Daily Mirror stated.
"So, if citizens of a particular country are repeatedly accused of severe crimes abroad, which threaten the lives of people travelling to different countries, we must ensure that the issue is addressed carefully and holistically. There should be international cooperation to ensure that the international kidnapping network is dismantled by compelling the Pakistan government to take serious action," it added.