ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Sunday said Prime Minister Imran Khan directed him to deal as the ‘topmost priority’ the Afghan envoy’s daughter abduction issue and arrest the culprits within 48 hours. Speaking to the media in the federal capital, he said the security apparatus is exhausting all possible options to track down the culprits.
“They would not be allowed to go scot-free. The perpetrators of the heinous act would be nabbed soon. All efforts are afoot,” he said. “The PM has directed that Islamabad
Police and other law enforcement agencies must investigate the incident as the topmost priority, bring up the truth of the matter and apprehend the culprits within 48 hours,” he said, adding that the PM also directed to utilise all resources in this regard.
A case has been registered on a written application moved by the Afghan authorities regarding the abduction of Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Najibullah Alikhil, Rashid said.
He said Pakistani and Chinese authorities are jointly probing Dasu bus incident.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Afghanistan stated with “deep regret that on July 16, 2021, Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Islamabad, was abducted for several hours and severely tortured by unknown individuals on her way home.”
After being released from the kidnappers' captivity, Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital, MOFA Afghanistan said in a statement. It strongly “condemned 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.”
The Afghanistan Foreign Office called on Pakistan to take immediate necessary actions to ensure full security of the Afghan embassy and consulates as well as the immunity of the country's diplomats and their families in accordance with international treaties and conventions.
“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,” it said.
Also on Saturday, MOFA Afghanistan summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan in Kabul and “lodged a strong protest over the abduction of the daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan.”
The Afghan authorities asked Pakistan’s envoy to “convey the strong protest and deep concerns of the Government of Afghanistan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Pakistan about this grave incident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explicitly called on the Pakistani government to take immediate action to identify and punish the perpetrators of this crime and ensure the full security and immunity of Afghan diplomats and their families in accordance with international conventions.”
Meanwhile, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan denied that the picture widely circulating on social media was that of his daughter’s, and shared the real picture of Silsila Alikhil on his twitter account earlier on Saturday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.