Afghan envoy’s daughter abducted, tortured

ISLAMABAD: Some unidentified people Friday abducted Afghan Ambassador Najeebullah Alikhail’s young daughter in broad daylight from a busiest market and threw her near the Fatima Jinnah Park after torture.

The incident took place in the jurisdiction of Kohsar Police Station.

Police said the ambassador's daughter was brutally tortured and tied with ropes. Preliminary medical report also confirmed torture.

The victim said she was bundled into a car when she came out of a shop. The captors threw her near the Fatima Jinnah Park. They left a note, written on a currency note that they had kidnapped her because her father was a communist.

“The victim reported the matter to her father who reached the scene and shifted her to PIMS with the help of police,” the police said.

Emergency was declared in the capital city after the incident and heavy contingents of police commandos, Elite Force, Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Quick Response Squad (QRS), Rangers as well as secret intelligence agencies and other relevant forces barricaded all the exit roads but the culprits couldn’t be traced.

The Foreign Office of Pakistan and relevant security authorities are closely in contact with the ambassador and his family and are extending them full support.

The security of the ambassador and his family has been beefed up and law enforcement agencies are trying to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice, it added.

In a statement, the Afghan Foreign Ministry requested Pakistan to identify and prosecute the perpetrators as soon as possible.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan states with deep regret that on July 16 the daughter of the Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Silsila Alikhil, was kidnapped & tortured before being released. The foreign ministry condemns the act,” the statement said.

The Afghan foreign ministry urged Pakistan “to take immediate necessary actions” to ensure full security of the Afghan embassy and consulates as well as immunity of the country's diplomats and their families in accordance with international treaties and conventions.

After the statement, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid said the prime minister had directed him the police and other law-enforcement agencies must investigate the incident on top priority and arrest the culprits within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate and Chairperson Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affair Senator Sherry Rehman Saturday termed the incident an attack on Pakistan and the values it stood for.

“This is an attack on Pakistan and the values we stand for and hope the interior ministry immediately provides enhanced security to such soft targets,” she tweeted.

“Either way the Afghanistan Ambassador’s daughter is a young woman and should not face ANY obstacle in walking about in central Islamabad, plus more importantly, she is entitled to diplomatic protection in Pakistan,” Sherry tweeted.