Pak Police to set up special zones to safeguard diplomats in Peshawar

Peshawar, Nov 19 : Pakistan Police has decided to set up special diplomatic zone for the protection of foreign diplomats in Peshawar after it failed to make any progress towards recovery of abducted Afghan and Iranian diplomats on Wednesday.

Taking to Geo News, SSP Kashif Alam said that police is probing the kidnapping of Iran's commercial attach Hashmatullah Atharzade and Afghan's ambassador-designate Abdul Khaliq Farahi.

"We have drafted the final recommendations aimed at safeguarding foreign diplomats in future." These recommendations, he said, would be forwarded to the federal government soon.

Alam said that situation would improve after construction of diplomatic enclave in Peshawar.

Security forces in Pakistan have been unsuccessful in finding clues about the kidnapped Afghan and Iranian diplomats, besides a host of foreign nationals in the country.

Earlier, security personnel raided various parts of the city and its surroundings to recover the kidnapped Iranian diplomat. A few people were also arrested and quizzed but no clue was found, The News quoted sources as saying.

According to the paper, there was tremendous pressure on the police and other law-enforcement agencies to take early steps for the recovery of the third secretary and commercial attache of the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar.

The consulate was abducted on November 13 after gunmen shot dead his driver in Hayatabad. The incident occurred a day after Stephen D Vance, an American official working on a development project in FATA was assassinated in the University Town. His local driver was also killed.

The paper said that it's generally believed that some hidden elements are targeting diplomats and other high-profile foreigners in the provincial metropolis under a conspiracy to portray a negative image of the region.

Apart from the Iranian diplomat, Afghan envoy to Islamabad Abdul Khaliq Farahi is missing for the past two months. The other kidnapped persons from the city include brother of Afghan finance minister, a professor of the Aryana University in Kabul and many others.

Besides, a foreigner female journalist went missing from Lakki Marwat while another high-profile Afghan national was kidnapped from Chitral. Likewise, a Chinese journalist picked up by Swat militants is still in their captivity.

ANI