Pak police claims kidnappers of Iranian, Afghan envoy arrested

Peshawar, Dec 24 (ANI): Inspector General of the North West Frontier Province, Malik Naveed Khan, today said that the masterminds behind kidnapping of Iranian and Afghan diplomats have been arrested.

Talking to media in Naushera, Khan said those involved in the kidnapping of Iranian Commercial Attach‚ Heshmatollah Atharzadeh and Afghan envoy to Pakistan Abdul Khaliq Farahi have been arrested.

However, they are confined in the areas where police could not reach, The News reported.

He said efforts are underway for the release of abducted diplomats.

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. (ANI)