KARACHI: Senior management of the Pakistani local beverage brand Cola Next has gone missing from Lahore, just days after the company’s CEO, Zulfiqar Ahmed, was kidnapped.
It is worth mentioning that Cola Next, which has positioned itself as an alternative to Coca-Cola since October amid a push to boycott products allegedly supporting Israel’s war on Gaza, saw its CEO abducted on July 23 after leaving his office in the city.
According to Daily Pakistan, the company’s Deputy Manager of Finance, Hassan Nawaz, and General Manager, Daniyal Khan, were also kidnapped. Hassan Nawaz was taken from Lahore, while Daniyal Khan was abducted by armed men in white double-cabin vehicles from Kasur. The company’s lawyer informed the media that two senior employees had been abducted from Punjab.
Meanwhile, police in Sindh have registered a kidnapping case following judicial intervention after a prominent businessman was taken by armed men from Karachi four days ago. Ahmed, who is also the managing director of Paracha Textile Mills and Mezan Group, went missing after his white Toyota Surf vehicle was intercepted by eight armed men who abducted him and a friend, later releasing the friend.
Ahmed’s friend recounted the incident, prompting the businessman’s family and company management to submit an application at the Kalri police station the same day.
However, the police initially refused to register a complaint, leading the family to approach the Sindh High Court, which ordered the police to lodge the case on Friday. Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho stated that two “high-powered” teams were investigating the case.
