MULTAN (Web Desk) – A man has been detained over a hoax call made about the hijacking of a bus near Khanewal, local TV channel Samaa reported on Wednesday.
“Tanveer, who was one of the passengers on board the bus, told the authorities over the phone that armed men were trying to force the bus to Dera Ghazi Khan,” officials told Samaa.
Responding to the false alarm, the law enforcement agencies spun into action and immediately dispatched search parties. Eventually, the bus and the passengers were was found safe and sound near a small town between Multan and Khanewal.
“The hoax caller is under investigation right now,” an official said.
Earlier, the mystery of the hijacking of the said bus was solved when National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP) spotted the bus by the wayside.
“The bus has not been hijacked. At the moment, it is parked on the side of motorway in Kachcha Khuh town near Khanewal,” NH&MP told Samaa.
According to an NH&MP spokesman, the driver was forced to pull over after a stone struck the windshield of the bus.
“The bus will leave for its destination after a while,” the NH&MP official said without giving further details.
Even earlier it was reported that a bus, with more than 30 passengers on board, has allegedly been hijacked near Khanewal.
“A private transporter’s luxury coach, en route from Lahore to Multan, was commandeered between 10:00 and 11:00 PM as it was 40-50 kilometers away from the city of Multan in South Punjab,” sources quoting officials told Samaa.
It was also reported that alleged hijackers were trying to take the bus to Dera Ghazi Khan, a mid-country city located on the junction of all the four provinces of Pakistan i.e. Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
The news of hijacking, which was broken by Samaa Tuesday night, was also confirmed by the police.
“All the roads leading to Dera Ghazi Khan have been sealed. We have reports suspicious people on board the bus are forcing the driver to take it to DG Khan or maybe beyond,” an official told Samaa on the basis of anonymity.
