ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban on Monday urged the Pakistan government to “arrest and punish” those involved in the reported abduction of the Afghan envoy’s daughter last week.

Silsila Alikhil, the daughter of Afghan envoy Najibullah Alikhil, 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.

Suhail Shaheen, the political office spokesman for international media for the Afghan Taliban, condemned the incident in a tweet.

“The kidnapping of an Afghan girl in Pakistan is against humanity and an aggression which we condemn,” Shaheen said. “We urge the government of Pakistan to step up its efforts to arrest and punish the perpetrators so that such acts do not give rise to hate between the two nations and the spoilers don’t have ground to misuse it.”

Pakistan authorities are currently investigating the reported abduction, with Prime Minister Imran Khan having issued special directions to the interior minister to nab the culprits as soon as possible. 

Following the incident, the Afghan government announced it was withdrawing its ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan, a move that Islamabad has termed as “unfortunate and regrettable.”

“The reported abduction and assault of the ambassador’s daughter in Islamabad is being investigated and followed up at the highest level on the instructions of the prime minister,” the foreign office said on Sunday night. “The security of the ambassador, his family and personnel of the embassy and consulates of Afghanistan in Pakistan has been further beefed up.”