Afghan-Pak tensions looms: Afghanistan envoys’s daughter kidnapped in Islamabad
18 July, 2021 | Rakshanda Afrin
Tensions escalated between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks.
As Taliban reign in the southern parts of Afghanistan and tensions escalates between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in a major development the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped. The said kidnapping was suspected to be done by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks as per officials and a hospital report. Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Ambassador Najib Alikhil, was on her way home on Friday when she was kidnapped and “severely tortured”, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, without giving more details of the abduction in Islamabad.
Amid widespread consternation over the case in both nations, Afghan authorities summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to lodge a formal complaint. In a statement, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it that strongly condemns this heinous act. It further expressed its deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan.
Afghan envoy's daughter was abducted from Blue Area in Islamabad where she went to buy a gift for younger brother. She was thrown after 5 hours with her hands & feet tied. A tissue paper & rupees 50 note with message “ your turn is next “ & “ communist” tied to her dupatta.
— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) July 17, 2021
Neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty ties. Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for Taliban insurgents, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
Last October, Afghanistan shut down its consulate in Peshawar over the removal of the Afghan national flag by Pakistani authorities from a disputer marketplace, which Kabul said belongs to Afghanistan.