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| Kidnapped Afghan envoy recovered |
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Tuesday, September 30, 2008
By Mushtaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: Abdul Khaliq Farahi, Afghanistan’s ambassador-designate to Pakistan, who was kidnapped from Peshawar’s Hayatabad town on September 22, was recovered on Monday.
Officials at the Afghan Consulate confirmed that Farahi had reached the city after his recovery and was safe and sound. The Foreign Office in Islamabad was also reported to have confirmed Farahi’s release. There were also reports that the Afghan ambassador-designate would be going to Islamabad.
He was first taken to the Governor’s House in Peshawar for a meeting with NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani after his release. Earlier in the day, sources told The News that ambassador Farahi would be freed on Monday or Tuesday morning. They said active involvement of Pakistan government officials led to the release of the envoy. It was not clear as to who was holding Farahi. There was also no word on the identity of the kidnappers and the terms of Farahi’s release. There were indications that militants were holding the Afghan ambassador.
An unconfirmed report said Farahi was recovered from somewhere in Khyber Agency. One source even mentioned the Mullagori area in Khyber Agency as the likely place where the hostage was kept after being kidnapped from Hayatabad Town on September 22. Soon after Farahi’s kidnapping, it was reported that he had been shifted to Mohmand Agency and was in the custody of local Taliban commander Abdul Wali, commonly known as Omar Khalid.
Sources claimed that the envoy was recovered after a brief encounter with Taliban militants holding him. However, it couldn’t be confirmed. Payment of ransom for securing his release was also being speculated but government officials were tight-lipped about the same.
There was intense pressure on the government to recover Farahi. The Afghan government was applying pressure on Pakistan to save Farahi’s life and secure his unharmed release. Ambassador Farahi, 51, was abducted by gunmen while he was being driven in Hayatabad town by his driver, Khalid. His driver was shot dead by the kidnappers when he tried to resist their bid.
Farahi, hailing from Afghanistan’s western Farah province, served as the Consul General in Quetta after the fall of the Taliban regime. In April 2002, he was appointed as Consul General in Peshawar and served on this position for six years. On August 21, he was named as the Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan. He couldn’t present his credentials since then and was waiting for President Asif Ali Zardari to return from his overseas visit to do so.
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briefs...
20 die in Afghan floods, avalanches
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ISSN 1563-9479 
