A comedian who poked fun at the Taliban's practice of apprehending thieves and meting out summary punishment to them was kidnapped from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan while he was entertaining guests at a wedding, according to a media report on Wednesday.

Nisar Khan had recently written a comedic song about thieves being caught and punished by the militants with lyrics like: "Shave my head, paint my face black; Mount me on a donkey and make fun of me."

Khan was entertaining guests at a wedding at Matani, a suburb of Peshawar, on Monday when around 20 militants entered the 'hujra' or guesthouse and abducted him, The Express Tribune reported. The militants said that they "needed an entertainer urgently". The incident occurred near a police check point.

"They told people not to panic and that Nisar is being taken away only for a few days. They said he will not be harmed," a person who was present at the hujra said.

According to local residents, Khan often performs at social events and regularly makes militants and the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam the butt of his jokes. They said Khan had been kidnapped by militants last year too and released a week later.

The local residents pointed out that despite the presence of a police check point and several check posts of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary, security forces took no note of armed men entering the area and fleeing.

Though Khan is known for his humour, some of his songs are serious and portray the despondent situation in the country's northwest.

A popular song by Khan has these lyrics: "There was a festival in the village on Sunday; People were joyful and merry; Suddenly, there occurred a loud blast; Our favourite nazim Abdul Malik was dead; The merry and happy crowd became mournful; My beloved province has been set on fire."

Pak tests ballistic missile

Pakistan successfully launched an upgraded ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead Wednesday, the Pakistani military said.

The Hatf IV Shaheen-1A missile was described as an intermediate-range missile having a longer range than its predecessor, the Shaheen-1, which is believed to fly up to 750 km.

If the Shaheen-1A is indeed an intermediate-range missile, it is far enough to hit targets anywhere in India.

"The improved version of Shaheen-1A will further consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's deterrence abilities,'' said Lt. Gen. Khalid Ahmed Kidwai.

India had been informed in advance by Pakistan about the test, and asked it to issue suitable warnings to aircraft flying over the region.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated scientists and military officials over the successful test of the Hatf IV.

17 channels warned

Islamabad: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority on Wednesday issued show cause notices to 17 TV news channels for airing gory images of the Bhoja Air crash.

PPP, allies back Gilani

Islamabad/Lahore: Leaders of the ruling Pakistan People's Party have held meetings to prepare for all contingencies in the event of PM Yousuf Raza Gilani's conviction by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Please read our terms of use before posting comments