that Mr Durrani’s authority didn’t extend to North Waziristan, which is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Subsequently, Mr Elahi called the NWFP Governor Lt Gen (retd) Syed Iftikhar Husain Shah after realising that the FATA came under his control. Many politicians, government officials and even journalists in the rest of Pakistan don’t know that the NWFP chief minister exercises authority only in the settled districts of the province, while the FATA, or the so-called "Ilaqa Ghair," is ruled by the governor.

2) Smuggled vehicles have been sold and regularised in the FATA and rest of the country for years but Mr Shahani’s incognito visit to Miranshah, North Waziristan, to buy a non-customs duty paid, double-cabin pick-up for the first time brought the issue into sharp focus and exposed the involvement of resourceful people in the business. In fact, only the most influential and moneyed people are able to buy and use such heavy-duty vehicles.

3) The price difference of vehicles on which customs duty was paid or unpaid must have surprised those unaware of the racket. The vehicle that caught Mr Shahani’s fancy in a motor bargain centre in Miranshah was priced Rs 355,000 only while the same Toyota Surf pick-up costs more than Rs 1.2 million after it is taxed elsewhere in the country. Buyers with the right connections were accumulating huge profits after purchasing and regularising the non-customs paid vehicles. A trader dealing in such vehicles felt the publicity was bad for their business because he expected a clampdown by the government. However, he remarked that greater awareness about the availability of vehicles at unbelievably low prices would be good for their business in the long term!

4) The minister’s kidnapping also focused attention on the thriving smuggling of every kind of vehicle from Afghanistan. Vehicles bought in Japan make their way to Pakistan via Dubai, Iran and Afghanistan. Motor bargain centres are the most visible business in Afghan cities like Herat, Kabul, Jalalabad, Khost and Kandahar and most cater to the huge demand for luxury and heavy duty vehicles in Pakistan. Afghanistan’s booming "car economy" thrives at the expense of Pakistan and promote illegal economy across the long and porous 2,500 kilometres border between the two countries.

5) From Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to his law minister Raja Basharat to federal information minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad, one has been hearing the feel-good claims that clues have been found and that minister Shahani would be recovered soon. One even got to know that the kidnapped minister was in good health. As it turned out, there was no basis for such claims. In fact, the identity and hideout of the kidnappers is still unknown and hopes of recovering the minister any time soon have turned into despair.

6) Few are willing to believe the contention of Sardar Amanullah Shahani, the Baloch chieftain from Bhakkar and father of the missing minister, that his son had gone to North Waziristan to condole someone’s death in that remote tribal region. If that were the case, he would have informed the NWFP government and driven in his official car duly escorted by the armed Khassadars (tribal police). Besides, the senior Shahani hasn’t provided information about the person whose death was to be condoled and the place of burial. To his bad luck, owners of the motor bargain centre, where minister Shahani cut a deal to buy a smuggled vehicle, have let out the secret that they were paid Rs 100,000 in advance.

7) Shahani’s kidnapping also raised questions about his selection as a minister. His opponents and the detractors of the ruling PML-QA pointed out that he was made a minister on the recommendation of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The Shahanis had obliged Chaudhry Shujaat in the October 2002 general elections by offering their safe National Assembly seat in Bhakkar to the PML-QA leader and helped him win it effortlessly. The Shahanis were rewarded with a berth in the Punjab cabinet. The young Shahani was apparently not very well versed with government affairs and was, therefore, entrusted with the insignificant sports and culture portfolio. It was another instance of our patronage-based politics.