Police: Gunmen kidnap UN official in Pakistan

[Turborama]

Source: AP

By ABDUL SATTAR, Associated Press Writer – 25 mins ago

QUETTA, Pakistan – Gunmen kidnapped a foreigner serving as a regional chief for the U.N. refugee agency in southwest Pakistan on Monday, police said, underscoring the threat to expatriates in a country bedeviled by insurgencies and rising criminality.

The gunmen also wounded the official's Pakistani driver in the main southwest city of Quetta as the two were leaving for work, senior police official Khalid Masood said. It was not immediately clear where the official is from or the exact scope of his duties.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office in Islamabad declined to immediately comment.

Television footage from the scene showed a UNHCR vehicle rammed against a wall. At least one bullet hole was visible in one door. Security officials were collecting evidence.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan

[cosmicone]

1. Balkanize Pakistan already ... enough of this! n/t

[Coventina]

2. UN official kidnapped in Pakistan

Source: BBC

A senior official of the United Nations refugee agency, John Solecki, has been kidnapped in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, the UN has confirmed.

Police said gunmen stopped his vehicle on his way to work, seizing him and killing his driver, a local man.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Quetta is capital of Balochistan, where insurgents have been fighting for more autonomy. The Taleban are also active in the area, which borders Afghanistan.



Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7864268.stm

[ohio2007]

3. "gunmen" need $