Top Afghan Diplomat Abducted in Pakistan
By VOA News
22 September 2008
Officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan say unidentified gunmen have kidnapped Afghanistan's consul-general in northwestern Pakistan.
An Afghan consulate official says the gunmen ambushed Haji Abdul Khaliq Farahi Monday as he traveled home in Peshawar.
The kidnappers were disguised as beggars when they stopped the Afghan diplomat's car on a bridge in the Hayyatabad residential area. Farahi's driver was killed in the assault.
Farahi was due to become Afghanistan's next ambassador to Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said the country's president and prime minister were due to have dinner at the Islamabad Marriott hotel when it was bombed.
Malik said the venue was changed to the prime minister's house at the last minute.
Authorities suspect Saturday's bombing that killed at least 53 people was the work of Taliban militants linked to al-Qaida.
At least 266 people were wounded by the blast and ensuing fire, which gutted the American-owned five-star hotel.
Officials say four foreigners were among the dead: two Americans, a Vietnamese national and the Czech ambassador to Pakistan. Another two foreigners are reported missing, including an American and a Danish security agent.
Pakistani authorities are offering a $130,000 reward for information on who carried out the attack.
British Airways Monday announced it has suspended all flights to Pakistan pending a review of the country's security situation.
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