Pakistan

Pakistan embassy staff in Kabul limits movement

Step taken after some men tried to kidnap an official

Tahir Khan August 27, 2015

Step taken after some men tried to kidnap an official. PHOTO: http://pakembassykabul.com/

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistani diplomats and staffers of the country’s embassy in Kabul have been forced to restrict their movement following an alleged kidnapping bid and growing incidents of harassment, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Sources said some unidentified men tried to abduct an official of the Pakistani embassy in the Shehr-e-Nau area of Kabul on Tuesday, forcing him to postpone a meeting scheduled for the day and return to embassy premises.

“Embassy officials have spotted some people taking videos of the normal movement of Pakistani diplomats entering or exiting the embassy as well,” a source said. A senior Pakistani embassy official was also recently stopped at a police check post for two hours allegedly by agents of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s premier intelligence agency.

“The Pakistani embassy will not be able to continue to function in such a situation,” the source said.

He said some individuals, presumably part of Afghanistan’s security apparatus, routinely hurled abuses at Pakistani embassy officials while passing near their home or the embassy compound. The situation has forced some embassy staffers who live outside the embassy compound to remain inside their homes, he added.

According to sources, the harassment of Pakistani officials in Afghanistan started after President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah and the NDS accused Pakistan of involvement in recent attacks in Kabul and the rest of the country. Pakistan has condemned the attacks.

When Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned Afghan ambassador Janan Mosazai on August 23, it asked him to urge his government to ensure the safety and security of Pakistani officials and nationals in Afghanistan. Pakistani embassy officials have also conveyed their concerns to the Afghan government and informed them about a possible threat to the embassy compound. But, even though Afghan officials recently visited the Pakistani embassy and assured the staff of security, there has been no let-up in the harassment incidents.

Due to heightened security concerns, the Pakistani embassy in Kabul postponed a test for Afghan students seeking Pakistani scholarships last week. The embassy expressed its inability to arrange security measures for the students who were supposed to appear for the compulsory English language test.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (18)

Al la ka | 9 years ago | Reply @Afghan: Buddy boy, I guess Islam started from Afghanistan and no one need to convert you guys..........It was called the Islamic republic of Ghandara civilization 1460 years back...........right???? And I suppose there were no Hindus and Bhuddist back then.....

Afghan | 9 years ago | Reply Our ancestors make a big mistake by converting them to islam by force they not faithful Muslim or a menace manner Hidu they are a terrorist loving nation, the love dead and destruction, the colour of blood splashing on the streets the indecent limbs of women and children blown apart every where and on top of that they want to be friend

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Pak Khan | 9 years ago | Reply @Nek: If Pakistan has given Afghans nothing, then why do 10 million Afghans call Pakistan their home? They should go back to Afghanistan.

Pak Khan | 9 years ago | Reply Pakhtuns in Pakistan had the Afghans and want Afghan refugees out of Pakistan, especially KPK. Those claiming there will be a Pakhtun reaction in Pakistan if Afghan refugees, who now number close to 10 million (did they have no kids since 3 million entered in 1980s?), are thrown out have no clue about Pakistan or Pakhtuns.

Saifullah Jan | 9 years ago | Reply It is heartening to observe that NEK (hope it means the Urdu, Pashtu or Persian "Nek", NOT the "Arabic" one) has conveniently IGNORED the massive "destruction, death and miseries" caused by the Russian naked aggression and subsequent occupation of Afghanistan in December 1979 and the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in late 2001, as both these Superpowers have killed NOT even a single innocent Afghan civilian. Both of them occupied Afghanistan to distribute CANDIES & SWEETS among the Afghan people. It would, therefore, be in the fitness of things if "NEK" becomes a "dual" national - Afghani as well as Indian.

Nek | 9 years ago | Reply For all those who say Afghans should be thankful. Pakistan has given us nothing but destruction, dead and misery. During Soviet invasion Pakistan saved itself by shielding behind Afghanistan. Pakista has used their proxies to destroy Afghanistan. We thank our friends India for their help, and we will never forget the damage and destruction that Pakistan has caused.

Dodo | 9 years ago | Reply @JJ: "If a force is used to send them to Afganistan and there are some casualties as a result," So should we be blackmailed by these folks. We need to throw all Pakhtun legal or illegal back to Afghanistan.

Dodo | 9 years ago | Reply We should remove our staff from Embassies. We only get poor immigrants from Afghanistan. Why do we need embassy for. It is just waste of money with risk of human loss.

Raju | 9 years ago | Reply I never see such a thankless nation as Afghanistan. Pakistan has always showered them blessings and goodwill geture, harboured their million refugees since last many decades despite of limited resources but in return what Pakistan gets. I do make responsible my country politicinas and military establishment for this failed foreign policy. Even Indians can be more trustworthy as compoared to Afghans.

Shah G | 9 years ago | Reply @JJ yes some are pashtoons but not all and what i meant to say was that if afghanis hate pakistanis so much why dont they leave and secondly they are burden on pak specially kpk province..i dont think people will react that much.

Khurram | 9 years ago | Reply Simple solution is to shut down the Pakistan embassy in Kabul, end all diplomatic ties with Afghanistan and throw out all Afghan immigrants from Pakistani soil. Its time to teach them a good lesson.

Khan Gul | 9 years ago | Reply Sending Afghan refugees by force could trigger hardline Pakhtun nationalism in Pakistan which would be detrimental to the unity of our country. I am sure, the state is fully aware of the fact, otherwise Afghan refugees may been sent back by force long time ago. Long live Pakistan, long live Pakhtuns and long live our unity.

Realist | 9 years ago | Reply Agree with JJ. Force should not be used against Afghan refugees. Unfortunately, a kind of harsh tone against Afghan refugees at some sections of the Pakistani media is reflective of the fact that the mainstream media of the country is not very well aware of the harsh reality surrounding the Afghan refugees' issue. If there is peace in Afghanistan they would go back voluntarily. No need to alienate some Pakhtun tribesmen of Pakistan. We must think about the national interests of Pakistan. And in this situation, the media should be discouraged to create hatred against the Afghan refugees because it is not in the national interest of Pakistan.

ABTAB_KHATTAK | 9 years ago | Reply INDUS has always been boundary of phaktun nation for 5000 years, Khyber pass is a artificial boundary created by Ranjit singh and continued by british , so called refugees are internal displacement of pathans. Read history and understand real encroachment.

JJ | 9 years ago | Reply @Shah G: Sir, you seem to be out of touch with the harsh reality surrounding the Afghan refugees and that is, almost all Afghan refugees are Pakhtuns. And almost all Pakhtuns have some sort of loyalty to their tribes and feel strong kinship for other Pakhtuns, even if they are from Afghanistan. Afghan refugees come from the same tribes who live on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. If a force is used to send them to Afganistan and there are some casualties as a result, many Pakistani Pakhtuns tribes in support of their tribesmen from Afghanistan would react which would not be good for the already fragile ethnic unity of the country.

Neutral | 9 years ago | Reply Ridiculous . Requesting Pakistan to give 2 more years for Afghan refugees and on the other hand playing this ? Spare the staff and deal like a man . Heard yesterday one of the main district in Hilmand is captured by Talibans ? Cope with the real threats rather hiding behind the International forces to play dirty tactics.

Shah G | 9 years ago | Reply The best response is to throw 3 million afghanis living in pakistan on their faces to let them their worth.

wb | 9 years ago | Reply Let us hope that this will teach Pakistan a lesson to have good friendly relationships with its neighbors. Pakistan should stop bullying its neighbors using proxies.

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