Pakistani consultant seized by Afghan intelligence released a day later

In this file photo, Afghan security forces are pictured near the main gate of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Kabul on Dec. 12, 2013. A Pakistani professional, who was picked up by Afghan intelligence operatives in Kabul on Wednesday, was released by the authorities. (AFP)

• The country’s diplomatic mission had taken up the issue with the Afghan foreign ministry
• Two other Pakistani workers continue to remain in the custody of Afghan authorities

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani professional, who was picked up by Afghan intelligence operatives in Kabul on Wednesday, was released by the authorities, two senior officials at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul confirmed on Thursday.
“Another Pakistani professional was picked up by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) at a checkpoint in Kabul,” a senior member of the diplomatic mission told Arab News earlier in the day. “This is the third case of abduction of Pakistani professionals in the last couple of months.”
The latest case involved Saeed Ullah, a consultant working with an Afghan firm for the past 10 years, the official informed.
The Pakistan Embassy in Kabul immediately took up the matter with the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said a diplomat who requested not to be named, adding that this led to his release later on Thursday.
“However, the other two Pakistani professionals are still in the custody of Afghan security agencies,” he added.
On Oct. 5, Pakistani national Syed Farrukh Hussain Shah was arrested while he was on his way to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Shah was working with Aryan Pakten Company, which installs medical equipment at hospitals across Afghanistan.
On Oct. 26, Afghan intelligence seized a Pakistani citizen, Dr. Waqar Dost, who was with the Nangarhar Medical Faculty in Jalalabad.
The latest incident came days after the Pakistani Embassy resumed consular services which until Dec. 28 were suspended following diplomatic tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
The Afghan authorities refused to comment on the news when contacted by Arab News on Thursday.