A high-profile official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday contacted the family of Abuzar Muhammad Afzal, the Pakistani national abducted in Nigeria, and assured its all-out cooperation for his safe recovery.
The official, Additional Secretary for Africa, Ali Javed told Muhammad Afzal Sheikh, Afzal’s father, that the Pakistani High Commission in Nigeria is reviewing the matter, saying the government is taking necessary measures to ensure Afzal’s safe return to the country.
Sheikh said that the official contacted him after the incident was reported by the Express media group, and also thanked them for bringing the matter to the fore. The father of the abducted national further said that his son had a PhD in Microbiology from Faisalabad and had been serving an international company in Nigeria as general manager.
Sheikh asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to talk to his Nigerian counterpart regarding the recovery of his son.
A day earlier, it was reported that Afzal was held hostage along with over 60 other people by a Nigerian terrorist group, with kidnapers issuing a six-day deadline for the approval of their demands. In a terrifying video, the Pakistani national had pleaded to the government and the world to help them. Abuzar had said that the kidnappers made it clear that if their demands were not met within six days, all the hostages would be killed, adding that they were abducted on March 28. “I work for a company called Jay Marines. 62 people including me have been abducted. We are in a very difficult situation,” he was quoted as saying. Abuzar had urged the governments of Pakistan and Nigeria and the international community to make immediate efforts for their release.
