Senior Afghan Official Kidnapped In Pakistan

Police said Muhammad Nabi Ahmadi was in the Dabgari neighborhood of Peshawar when gunmen forced him into a vehicle and drove away.

Pakistani police say gunmen kidnapped a senior Afghan official in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Police said Muhammad Nabi Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar, was kidnapped on October 28.

Senior police official Muhamad Sajjad Khan told AFP that Ahmadi was in the Dabgari neighborhood of Peshawar when gunmen forced him into a vehicle and drove away.

Abdul Ghani Musamem, the spokesman for the governor of Kunar, confirmed Ahmadi was missing in Peshawar and added that he had been on leave for medical treatment.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan, has long been a center for militant activity and a transport hub for smugglers and drug traffickers.

The incident is likely to further strain relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of harboring the Afghan Taliban leadership, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters