American UN official kidnapped in Pakistan
2009-02-02

Category Kidnap Taliban United Nations Nations Pakistan Afghanistan City Islamabad Category Regions Regions Asia Event Anti-terror War in Pakistan Source (AFP)

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) - Gunmen kidnapped a top American UN official and killed his driver in Pakistan on Monday, in the most high-profile recent Western abduction in a country struggling to contain extremist violence.

John Solecki, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the southwestern city of Quetta, was snatched at gunpoint while travelling to work in the capital of Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Quetta, which has an estimated population of just under one million, is considered a possible refuge for Taliban leaders who fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion in late 2001 that toppled the hardline regime.

Unknown gunmen ambushed Solecki's vehicle, which was marked with United Nations insignia, and opened fire, wounding the driver who later died of his injuries, UN officials and police said.

"He is an American national and his name is John Solecki. He is head of the sub-office of UNHCR-Quetta," local police official Khalid Masood told AFP.

"They opened fire. His driver was wounded and died on the way to hospital. The gunmen took him (Solecki) away to an unknown location," he said.

A white jeep bearing the light blue UNHCR markings stood dead-ended into a brick wall. A small pool of blood could be seen on the pavement next to the driver's door, an AFP photographer witnessed.

Diplomats in Islamabad and an aid worker speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity confirmed Solecki was American.

Baluchistan province has rich energy resources but is rife with regional insurgency, sectarian violence and attacks blamed on Islamist extremists, making it difficult to quickly pinpoint who was behind the assault.

Hundreds of people have died in insurgent unrest in the province since 2004, when rebels began demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from Baluchistan's natural resources.

The United Nations strongly condemned the kidnapping and the killing of the driver, Syed Hashim, expressing "extreme shock and dismay" and emphasising that it was "taking all possible measures to secure" Solecki's release.

"We strongly condemn this attack on humanitarian workers in Pakistan who have been doing their utmost to deliver their humanitarian mission," said the United Nations from Islamabad.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi denounced the ambush as an "unfortunate and dastardly terrorist act".

"The government of Pakistan is taking all necessary measures for the safe and early recovery of Mr Solecki," he added.

Kidnappings of foreigners in Baluchistan are rare, although they are more common in northwest Pakistan, which also borders Afghanistan.

The last abduction of a foreigner reported in Baluchistan was in 1991 when a group of Afghan fighters kidnapped three Chinese engineers and took them across the border into Afghanistan. They were later released.

The deputy inspector general of Baluchistan police, Wazir Khan Nasir, said it was "too early to say who might be involved" in Solecki's abduction, but said authorities had extended adequate security to UN agencies in the area.

Another police official told AFP: "We cannot rule out that Islamist militants were involved given their activities all over the country, especially in the northwest.

"But it is difficult to say which group may have been involved in the incident because there are many groups as well as the Taliban that are operating in the country."

Kidnappings have multiplied in recent months in northwest Pakistan. Gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat, Hashmatullah Atharzadeh, and killed his guard in the city of Peshawar last November.

A Canadian journalist was also abducted in November in Pakistan's northwest tribal areas.

Suspected Taliban militants kidnapped Afghan Consul General Abdul Khaliq Farahi near Peshawar nearly two months ago and are still holding him.