Islamabad, 19 July 2021 (Daily Dawn)

Afghanistan on Sunday called back its ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan after the brief “kidnapping” of the Afghan envoy’s daughter in Islamabad.

“Following the abduction of the Afghan ambassador’s daughter in Pakistan, the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan called back Afghanistan’s ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of abduction,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said an Afghan delegation will visit Pakistan soon to assess and follow up on the case and “all related issues”, adding that “subsequent actions will follow based on the findings”.

Ambassador Najibullah Alikhil’s daughter, Silsila, was abducted from Islamabad’s commercial hub by unidentified persons on Friday who also subjected her to torture.

She was returning home in the afternoon in a taxi after visiting a bakery in Islamabad’s Blue Area when the driver picked up another man, who verbally abused and assaulted her. She was later dropped in an unconscious condition by the taxi driver on a roadside.

Her medical report confirmed that she had been physically assaulted.

Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh in a tweet said President Ashraf Ghani had issued instructions to recall the diplomats.

“The abduction of Afghan ambassador’s daughter & her subsequent torture has wounded the psyche of our nation. Our national psyche has been tortured,” he said.