ISLAMABAD: Pakistani interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Sunday the culprits involved in the recent abduction and assault of the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan would be arrested within the next 72 hours.
Silsila Alikhil, 26, was abducted in the middle of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Friday, held for several hours and brutally attacked, officials in both countries said on Saturday. A hospital medical report said she suffered blows to her head, had rope marks on her wrists and legs and was badly beaten. There was a suspicion that she had several broken bones and X-rays were ordered, the report said.
The report also said her abductors held her for over five hours and that she was brought to the hospital in Islamabad by police. No details have been released so far about the abduction itself or the circumstances of her release.
“Islamabad police have registered an FIR (police report) based on the written statement of Silsila Alikhil and have collected evidence in the kidnapping and assault case of the daughter of the Afghan ambassador,” Ahmed said at a press conference. “The police are investigating the case as top priority on the orders of the prime minister. In the next 48 hours, most likely, and maximum 72 hours, we will solve the case.”
The interior minister said investigative agencies had used CCTV cameras to trace Alikhil’s travels in various markets of Islamabad and its twin-city of Rawalpindi on July 16.
“The Afghan ambassador’s daughter had left her home on foot and arrived at Jinnah Super Market [in Islamabad],” Ahmed said. “From the market, she took a taxi to Khadda Market [Islamabad] for shopping.”
Undated photo of Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan. Silsila was reportedly abducted while she was on her way home in Islamabad on July 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy: @NajibAlikhil/Twitter)
From Khadda Market, Alikhil took another taxi to Rawalpindi, the minister said.
“We also have footage of her getting out of a taxi at a Rawalpindi shopping mall. She then took a third taxi to arrive at Daman-e-Koh and from there she arrived at F-9 park,” Ahmed said, adding that investigators had interviewed and recorded the statement of three taxi drivers.
“The only gap [in the investigation] that we are facing is how she was able to arrive at Daman-e-Koh from Rawalpindi and for this we are checking CCTV cameras. Hopefully by evening today, more missing links of the case can be put together to provide a clearer picture,” Ahmed said.
He said Alikhil was first treated at a private hospital, Ali Medical Center, and then brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences where her treatment and medical examination was completed as per the legal requirements.
Pakistan on Saturday called the attack “disturbing” and said that security at the residence of the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad has been reinforced. Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a swift and thorough probe.
The Afghan foreign ministry said it strongly condemned the “heinous act” and expressed concern for Afghan diplomats and their families in Pakistan. The Afghan foreign ministry in Kabul also summoned Pakistani Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan on Saturday to lodge “a strong protest” over the attack.
Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan (second left), meets officals of Afghan foreign ministry in Afghanistan on July 17, 2021. (Photo courtesy: @mfa_afghanistan/Twitter)
Relations between the two countries are fraught with suspicion and animosity. They routinely trade accusations, with Afghanistan saying Pakistan is sending thousands of militants to fight in Afghanistan and providing safe haven for the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan in turn accuses Kabul of harboring the anti-Pakistani group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — the Pakistani Taliban — and also the secessionist Balochistan Liberation Army. Both nations deny the accusations.
