Islamabad: Unidentified men today kidnapped the brother of the Afghan Finance Minister in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Zia-ul-Haq Ahadi, the brother of the Afghan Finance Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, was returning home from a mosque when four unidentified men overpowered and kidnapped him in the posh Hayatabad neighbourhood, another brother of the minister, Israr-ul-Haq Ahadi said.

The men bundled Zia-ul-Haq into a car and drove away from the spot, he said.

Police in the area said they had not received any formal report about the incident. No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping but such incidents are usually blamed on political opponents.

Afghanistan's ambassador-designate to Pakistan, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was kidnapped from the same area in Peshawar on September 22 by unidentified gunmen who shot dead his driver. There is no information on his whereabouts.

Majnoon Gulab, Afghanistan s charge d affaires in Islamabad, said his country s consulate in Peshawar had conveyed to him local media reports about the kidnapping. He said he had not received any formal information from Pakistani authorities.

Zia-ul-Haq, a trader, was associated in the past with the Afghanistan Social Democratic Party, known as the Afghan Mellat, Afghan sources said. He is currently not very active in politics, they said.

The sources said Zia-ul-Haq may have been kidnapped for ransom. His family said Zia-ul-Haq had been living in Kabul but had come to Peshawar to meet relatives.
Source : PTI