Afghan president recalls diplomats from Pakistan over abduction of ambassador’s daughter

SMA NEWS – ISLAMABAD

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has recalled the country’s ambassador and other diplomats from Pakistan until the people responsible for abducting the ambassador’s daughter are punished, a government official said on Sunday.

Silsila Alikhil, 26, was reportedly abducted in Islamabad on Friday, held for several hours and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said.

Pakistan called the attack “disturbing” and said that security at the ambassador’s residence in Islamabad had been reinforced, while Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a swift and thorough probe.

Waheed Omer, the general director of the office of public affairs for the Afghan government, tweeted that Ghani had “summoned the Afghan ambassador and diplomats based in Islamabad to Kabul until the security of the Afghan ambassador and diplomats in that country is guaranteed.” He also called on Pakistan to punish Alikhil’s kidnappers.

Islamabad has yet to comment on his tweet.

Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday that those involved in the abduction and assault would be arrested within the next 72 hours.

A hospital medical report said Alikhil suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs, and was badly beaten. There was a suspicion that she had several broken bones and X-rays were ordered.

The report also said her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was taken to a hospital in Islamabad by police. No details have been released so far about the abduction itself or the circumstances of her release.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the “heinous act” and expressed concern for its diplomats and their families in Pakistan.

It also summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, on Saturday to lodge “a strong protest” over the attack.