Daughter of Afghan envoy kidnapped and injured in Pakistan
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Afghanistan government says Silsila Alikhil was kidnapped in Islamabad, Pakistan and ‘severely tortured’ by unknown assailants.
The daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks, officials and a hospital report have said.
Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Ambassador Najib Alikhil, was on her way home on Friday when she was kidnapped and “severely tortured”, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, without giving more details of the abduction in Islamabad.
“After being released from the kidnappers’ captivity, Ms Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital,” the statement added, urging an investigation and protection for Afghan diplomats.
A medical examination report, shared on social media and confirmed by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences state hospital where Alikhil was treated, said she was admitted with swelling and rope marks on the wrists and ankles.
The report gave her age as 26, said she was held for more than five hours and also noted she had some swelling in the brain’s rear occipital region.
Amid widespread consternation over the case in both nations, Afghan authorities summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to lodge a formal complaint.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it “strongly condemns this heinous act and expresses its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan”.
‘Disturbing incident’
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the Afghan embassy had informed it Alikhil was assaulted while riding in a rented vehicle.
Police were investigating the “disturbing incident” and security had been tightened for the ambassador and his family, it said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted the matter treated as top priority and the culprits caught within 48 hours, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty ties.
Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for Taliban fighters, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing the armed group to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
Both deny the charges.
Daughter of Afghanistan’s envoy abducted, tortured in Pakistan
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The daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan Najibullah Alikhil was briefly abducted and tortured before she was released, the Afghan foreign ministry said on Saturday.
“The daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad Ms. Silsila Alikhil, was abducted for several hours and severely tortured by unknown individuals on her way home,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. The incident happened on July 16.
Statement by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Regarding Abduction of Daughter of Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad
July 17, 2021
—————————–https://t.co/g0Ob311mbE pic.twitter.com/Q8PHi3mP4o — Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (@mfa_afghanistan) July 17, 2021
Alikhil is under treatment at a hospital in Islamabad, the statement added.
Condemning the act, the Afghan ministry called on the Pakistan government to take immediate necessary actions to ensure the security of the Afghan embassy and consulates.
Concerned over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan, the ministry said: “While the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs is following the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, we urge the Pakistani government to identify and prosecute the perpetrators at the soonest possible time.”
According to news agency Reuters, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Afghan embassy had informed it that Alikhil was assaulted while riding in a rented vehicle. Police were investigating the “disturbing incident” and security had been tightened for the ambassador and his family, it said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty relations.
On Friday, with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan listening, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani had lashed out at him and Pakistan’s military for supporting the Taliban. Ghani’s accusation that “more than 10,000 jihadi fighters” have entered Afghanistan from Pakistan in the last month, and that Islamabad had failed to convince the Taliban to participate “seriously” in the peace talks, was rejected by Khan.
Khan said it was “unfair” to blame Pakistan for the situation in Afghanistan.
Thousands of Afghans have fled the country in recent days as Taliban forces have surged through northern Afghanistan following the United States’ decision to withdraw all its troops from the war-torn country by September,
With inputs from Reuters
Daughter of Afghan envoy to Pakistan hurt in kidnapping
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ISLAMABAD/KABUL, July 17 (Reuters) - The daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks, officials and a hospital report said on Saturday.
Silsila Alikhil was going home on Friday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad when she was seized for several hours and “severely tortured”, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said.
“After being released from the kidnappers’ captivity, Ms Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital,” it added, urging an investigation and protection for Afghan diplomats.
A medical examination report, shared on social media and confirmed by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences state hospital where Alikhil was treated, said she was admitted with swelling and rope marks on the wrists and ankles.
The report gave her age as 26, said she was held for more than five hours and also noted she had some swelling in the brain’s rear occipital region.
Amid widespread consternation over the case in both nations, Afghan authorities summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to lodge a formal complaint.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the Afghan embassy had informed it Alikhil was assaulted while riding in a rented vehicle. Police were investigating the “disturbing incident” and security had been tightened for the ambassador and his family, it said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted the matter treated as top priority and the culprits caught within 48 hours, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty ties. Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for Taliban insurgents, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
Both deny the charges.
Reporting by Umar Farooq; Additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.