British Red Cross worker kidnapped in Quetta

Armed men intercepted vehicle and detained him at gunpoint near Chaman Housing Scheme.

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped a British employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) near the Chaman Housing Scheme in Quetta on Thursday.

Police Operations Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nazir Kurd said that Dr Khalil Ahmed Dale, a Yemen-born British national, was on his way to the office when a group of armed men intercepted his vehicle and detained him at gunpoint.

“The moment Dr Dale reached in front of his office, unknown gunmen riding a Land Cruiser picked him and took him away,” Kurd revealed.

Quoting witnesses, the DIG told AFP that Dr Dale arrived in front of his office in a Land Cruiser where some eight masked gunmen were waiting for him in another vehicle. One opened the door of Dr Dale’s vehicle and kidnapped him at gunpoint, police said.

He said that the group of armed men was already waiting for the ICRC official near his office in the Chaman Housing Scheme — a high-security zone in Quetta where offices of all the international organisations are located.

“The abductors left behind the vehicle and spared the driver,” revealed the DIG.

“Dale is a converted British Muslim,” Kurd said. “He has been working here for a year.”

In the aftermath of the event, security across the provincial capital was beefed up immediately and police blocked all entry and exit points of the city.

Kurd said that the ICRC had been offered security, but they declined it saying that it was against their mandate since the organisation worked for victims regardless of their nationality and background.

“The ICRC had not received any threat from any organisation. The motive behind the kidnapping is still unknown since investigations are in the initial stages,” Quetta police chief Ehsan Mehboob told journalists near the ICRC office.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani took notice of the incident and directed the authorities concerned to use all available resources to ensure the release of Dr Dale.

“It was a British expatriate colleague. The incident occurred around 12:00 local time in the city of Quetta,” ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon told AFP in Geneva.

Cardon said he was abducted by several armed men as he headed for his house after work, according to local witnesses.

“We do not have information on the kidnappers,” Cardon added.

The ICRC announced this week a reduction of its activities in Pakistan, with the closure of three of its centres. In Balochistan, the ICRC mainly focuses on health programmes, and supports several health centres, including a hospital and an orthopaedic ward.(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2012.