Sikh family in Canada await for abducted son's release in Pakistan

A Pakistani-Canadian Sikh family has still no word on the fate of their son, who was abducted by the Taliban in Pakistan for ransom three weeks ago.

Bishan Dass, who left the Pakistani city of Peshawar eight years ago and settled in Brampton, said his 32-year-old Robin Singh was abducted in Peshawar on February 12. He was abducted while he was on his way to work as an IT professional, said Dass, 70.

Dass and his wife, Shama, said "we can't even sleep at night. We're not hearing anything about him." Singh, a father of three sons, is one of the four Sikhs kidnapped in recent weeks in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province, where Taliban have been targeting  non-Muslims.

Of the other three abductees, one was beheaded last month and the other two freed this week in a raid by Pakistani forces. There has been no word, however, on Robin Singh, who was abducted in broad daylight in a market in Peshawar.

The chilling news came to Dass a few days after the abduction, when his other Peshawar-based son, Rajan, received a phone call. A ransom demand of Rs10 million followed days later.

Desperate for their son's release, the family launched a fundraising drive in Brampton last week, but Dass said donations are no longer being sought.

Canadian officials with the World Sikh Organisation, among others, advised strongly against paying the ransom for fear it would encourage further kidnappings.