ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the Afghan government to ensure early recovery of the officials of its Jalalabad Consulate who went missing while travelling to their country on Friday.
In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that Islamabad is in constant touch with Afghan authorities for safe recovery of the two officials.
He said the Afghan authorities have informed that three distinct investigating groups have been constituted to ensure safe recovery of the officials.
“Islamabad is in constant contact with Afghan authorities and the matter of the diplomats’ safety and recovery at the earliest has been raised with the relevant officials.”
Two diplomats based in the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jalalabad, an eastern Afghan city, went missing June 16 while traveling to Pakistan by road, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed.
“Pakistan has requested the Afghan government that all efforts may be made to ensure early recovery of our officials and bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice,” the FO statement said.
The FO added that Afghanistan is cooperating in the efforts to ‘probe the incident’ and recover the two diplomats. “Three distinct investigating groups have been constituted to ensure the safe recovery of the officials,” the statement added.
The FO did not speculate who may be behind the disappearances, but various Afghan militant groups have targeted diplomats in the past.
