Kidnapped U.S. national released in Pakistan
14:09 25/08/2011 NEW DELHI, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Warren Weinstein, a development expert from the United States who was kidnapped two weeks ago in Pakistan, was released on Thursday, Pakistani media said.
The 70-year-old man, who worked in Pakistan as the country director for consulting company J.E. Austin Associates, was snatched by a group of armed people from his house in Lahore.
Gunmen tricked his bodyguards and got into the house, where they pistol-whipped Weinstein and his driver and tied up the guards.
The U.S. national's location was established after police detained three possible suspects in the kidnapping and analyzed data from their mobile phones.
Weinstein was found in Khushab, a city about 200km northwest of Lahore, and released during an early morning operation, reportedly by U.S. and Pakistani special services.
The number of kidnappings has been on the increase in Pakistan in the past few years. Though the majority of such crimes are carried out by local criminal gangs, sometimes people are abducted to finance various extremist groups, including the Taliban.
In July, two Swiss nationals were kidnapped in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan.
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