Kidnapped Afghan diplomat freed in Quetta

KABUL‘s southwestern city of Quetta in late July, has safely returned home, officials said on Saturday.

Abducted from the Satellite Town area on July 28 when he was on his way to office, Muhammad Hashim Ibrat remained in captivity for more than a month.

“Ibrat has returned home; he is safe and sound,” Afghan Consul General Ghulam Muhammad Bahadur told journalists in Quetta. He, however, gave no details about the kidnappers, their demands and motives.

A local TV media outlets quoted an unnamed consulate official as saying important Taliban leaders had been freed in exchange for Ibrat’s release. “The militant leaders were set free in Kandahar,” the official told Dawn newspaper.

Nearly 80 gangs involved in kidnappings and other crimes, are reportedly active in Quetta, a city haunted by sectarian violence and rebel-linked violence. No group had claimed the responsibility for the abduction.

PAN Monitor/mud

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