By DPA,
Kabul : A senior Afghan diplomat, kidnapped by unknown gunmen over two years ago, has been freed in Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan, the Afghan government confirmed Sunday.
“After two years in captivity, Abdul Kahliq Farahi was freed from his kidnappers’ custody and arrived in Kabul today,” the presidential palace said in a statement.
Farahi, the former consul general in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar, was kidnapped by gunmen in September 2008. The abductors killed his driver before taking Farahi to an unknown location in Pakistan.
Sunday’s statement said Farahi was kidnapped by a group called Kuteba Salauddin, adding that joint efforts by the Afghan and Pakistani governments had helped secured Farahi’s release.
Farahi met with President Hamid Karzai and two vice presidents upon arrival Sunday. “Mr. Farahi is in good health and has already rejoined his family in Kabul,” the statement continued.
Pakistani media had reported that the abductors had asked for a ransom and the release of their jailed comrades in return for the Afghan diplomat.
The Afghan foreign ministry praised the work of the Pakistani government in a statement Sunday, saying Islamabad’s continued efforts had “led to the safe release of Mr Farahi”.