Envoy abducted in Pakistan

13.11.08

Armed men have kidnapped an Iranian diplomat and killed his bodyguard in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to police sources. The diplomat is a commercial attaché at the consulate in the city. 

Violence has dramatically increased in the north-west of Pakistan in recent months, with Islamist militants being blamed for the upsurge in attacks. The incident occurred on November 13, a day after an American aid-worker and his driver were shot dead as they were travelling to work in the suburbs of the city.  

The Iranian government has labelled the incident "a terrorist act" and has summoned the Pakistani ambassador to discuss the kidnapping. Security forces have cordoned off main roads leading from Peshawar and are still attempting to trace the diplomat. 

In a similar incident on September 22, unknown gunmen kidnapped Afghan consul-general Abdul Khaliq Farahi from the same locality, gunning down his driver. Mr Farahi was released unharmed a week later. 

On November 12, American aid-worker Stephen Vance and his driver were killed outside their office in the University area of Peshawar. No groups have so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Mr Vance worked for Cooperative Housing Foundation International, which is working on US funded projects in Pakistan to help develop the troubled region. 

On the same day a suicide bomber killed himself at a stadium in Peshawar, as the governor of North-West Frontier Province left following a sports tournament. The governor was unhurt in the incident, but there was at least one fatality in the crowd.

Sources in Islamabad say that the security situation in Pakistan has worsened steadily in recent years, with Taliban militants controlling large stretches of North-West Frontier Province. Although attacks on foreign nationals are still rare, in recent months militants have been increasingly targeting aid workers and other foreigners across the border in Afghanistan.