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Iranian diplomat abducted in Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat after killing his guard on Thursday in Peshawar.

A spate of attacks on foreigners has underscored the deteriorating conditions in a region used by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as a staging ground for assaults in Afghanistan. Neither U.S. missile strikes on militants’ targets nor aid efforts in the region appear to have had much impact on stemming the violence.

Heshmatollah Atharzadeh, Iran’s commercial attaché in Peshawar, was driving over a narrow bridge when armed men blocked his way and opened fire, said Banaras Khan, a policeman, who cited a witness. He said the guard was killed and the attackers dragged the Iranian into their vehicle and fled. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi denounced the abduction as a “terrorist act,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility, and promised that authorities would take “all necessary measures” to recover Mr. Atharzadeh. Until recently, Peshawar, the dusty, sprawling regional capital, was considered relatively safe for foreigners. Now, residents say crime as well as militancy appear to be on the rise. It is possible the Iranian was kidnapped for a ransom, though police would not speculate.

The latest kidnapping happened in the same area where Afghanistan’s Ambassador-designate was abducted in September and his driver killed. The Afghan diplomat is still missing, as are a Chinese engineer and a Polish surveyor who were also kidnapped here. — AP

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