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| UNHCR official kidnapped in Quetta Driver killed in ambush |
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009
By Muhammad Ejaz Khan
QUETTA: Gunmen kidnapped provincial head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) US national John Solecki and killed his driver in the Chaman Housing Scheme here on Monday.
Unknown gunmen ambushed Solecki’s vehicle while he was on his way to his office located some 600 yards away from his residence in the Chaman Housing Scheme and opened fire, wounding his driver Syed Hashim Raza, who later succumbed to his injuries at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
When asked about a possible security breach, DIG Police Wazir Khan Nasir told media men outside the UNHCR sub-office that the UNHCR high-ups in Balochistan had been provided full security protocol as per their requirements.
He said after the kidnapping of John Solecki all entry and exit points of Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah had been sealed, adding all out efforts were under way to trace the whereabouts of the UNHCR official and apprehend the captors.
Reports suggested that the assailants had taken positions near the residence of John Solecki in the Chaman Housing Scheme. About at 8:50am, the UNHCR vehicle carrying Solecki approached the site when the assailants opened intense fire at it. They seemed to have targeted the driver who sustained multiple bullet wounds to his head. The gunmen took the UNHCR provincial chief to an unknown location.
After the incident top police official rushed to the spot and started investigation. The police also sought help of the Frontier Corps (FC) to nab the culprits. DIG Wazir Khan said according to preliminary reports, the vehicle had three bullet marks.
When asked about any threat received by the UNHCR official, he said the police had not been informed by any official of the UNHCR office if they had received any threats. We have recovered three empty rounds of Kalashnikov from the site. He said all agencies were cooperating with police in tracing the kidnapers. He maintained that the police were leaving no stone unturned and other law enforcement agencies were also making hectic efforts to nab the assailants and recover the kidnapped UNHCR official.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, taking strict notice of the incident, directed the police to widen the scope of the investigation and recover the kidnapped official as soon as possible.
Soon after returning from Islamabad on Monday afternoon, the chief minister summoned high-ups of the home department and police and directed them to take tough security measures to improve law and order situation in the province.
He further directed all possible protection to the foreigners engaged in different projects in the province. He said no one would be allowed to play with the lives of innocent people and harm sensitive installations in the province.
Agencies add: The foreign ministry condemned what it called a “dastardly terrorist act” and said all measures were being taken for Solecki’s safe and early recovery.
A UN official confirmed that a colleague working for the UN refugee agency had been kidnapped in Quetta on Monday. “I can confirm this unfortunate incident of a UN colleague’s kidnapping this morning in Quetta and injuries to his driver,” information officer Ishrat Rizvi told AFP by telephone in Islamabad.
“The UN is working with police and concerned officials to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken to address this situation,” she added. “We strongly condemn this attack on humanitarian workers in Pakistan who have been doing their utmost to deliver their humanitarian mission,” said Ishrat Rizvi in Islamabad.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on Monday expressed “deep shock and sadness” after gunmen kidnapped a top American UN official and killed his driver in Pakistan.
“The targeting of those who help the world’s most vulnerable people leaves all of us deeply shocked and saddened,” said Guterres in a statement. “On behalf of all UNHCR staff worldwide, I extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Syed Hashim, who leaves behind a wife, two daughters and two sons,” Guterres said.
“We also express our solidarity with John’s family and assure them we are doing everything possible to secure his release,” he added. DIG police Wazir Khan Nasir said it was “too early to say who might be involved” in the abduction but that the authorities had extended adequate security to UN agencies in the area.
“We had a meeting with them and provided all the security needed by the UN in Quetta,” he said. Another police official told AFP on condition of anonymity that “religious elements” may have been involved.
Police officer Khalid Masood identified the victim as US citizen John Solecki and said he had been working in Quetta for more than two years. Solecki did not have a police escort while he was travelling, Masood said. “We have learned that he usually did not like to have an escort with him on his way to the office,” Masood said.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
