By Xinhua,
Tehran : An Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Pakistan in mid November is alive and in good health, a state-run TV channel reported Sunday.
Heshmatollah Attarzadeh Niyaki, commercial attaché of the Iranian Consulate here, was kidnapped Nov 13 by unidentified gunmen while on his way to office from his home in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. His driver was killed in the attack.
“The Iranian embassy’s efforts to locate the abducted diplomat have been satisfactory,” the Press TV quoted Iran’s envoy to Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri as saying Saturday.
“We were informed by Pakistani security officials that Attarzadeh is alive and hope he will soon reunite with his family,” he added.
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned the kidnapping of the diplomat, saying that the abduction was an act of “terror”.
A day after the kidnapping, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said that according to the Vienna convention on diplomatic rights, the Pakistani government has the responsibility to protect foreign diplomats.
Iran hopes the diplomat would be released safely with help from the Pakistani officials, he said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has condemned the kidnapping.