Islamabad: In the second such incident in less than two months, an Iranian diplomat and his driver were today kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, who ambushed his car and shot dead his personal security guard in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Hashmatullah Atharzadeh, the commercial attache in the Iranian Consulate General in Peshawar, was travelling from his home to office when his car was intercepted by the gunmen in the posh Hayatabad area on the outskirts of the city.

The gunmen shot dead Atharzadeh s armed guard before taking him and his driver away, officials said.

Iran condemned the incident as an "act of terrorism" and summoned Pakistani envoy Nasrullah Khan to the Foreign Ministry to press for immediate efforts by Islamabad to secure Atharzadeh's freedom.

Pakistan s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also condemned the kidnapping and asked the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure the release of the Iranian diplomat.

Peshawar police chief Muhammad Suleman Khan said some important clues regarding the abduction have been found and Atharzadeh would be released soon.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. Hayatabad is located adjacent to Jamrud sub-district of the troubled Khyber Agency, where the Pakistani Taliban is active. The Jamrud area also has several criminal gangs that carry out kidnappings for ransom.

In a similar incident, Afghanistan's ambassador-designate Abdul Khaleq Farahi was kidnapped from Hayatabad on September 22 by militants who shot dead his driver.

Source : PTI