Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani diplomat Rana Nayyar Iqbal, who was shot dead in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city on Monday, was laid to rest in a graveyard in Islamabad’s H-8 area. Prominent personalities including Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif attended the funeral.

Earlier, Iqbal’s body was shifted to Peshawar via Torkham border. His body was handed over to the political administration of Torkham and officials of Frontier Corps (FC) at the border. Two assailants riding a motorbike opened fire on Nayyar Iqbal Rana, 52, at a shop in the eastern city of Jalalabad. He was the assistant to the consul general in Jalalabad, the capital of restive Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

The Foreign Ministry statement said that Rana had finished his three year tenure in Jalalabad and was due to return. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned the Afghan Charge d’affaires to the Foreign Office to lodge a strong protest against this heinous act and demanded that the perpetrators of this act of violence should be apprehended and brought to justice. The Foreign secretary asked for foolproof security for Pakistani diplomats and Missions in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Charge d’Affaires expressed condolences on behalf of his government, assured provision of security to Pakistani diplomats and Missions in Afghanistan, and to bring to justice the perpetrators of this terrorist act.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in their separate messages strongly condemned the heinous attack and conveyed their deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family.

In his message, the foreign minister condoled with the aggrieved family and denounced this tragic act of violence. He urged the Afghan government to take urgent steps to apprehend the perpetrators and ensure the safety and security of the Pakistan’s diplomatic personnel and its missions in Afghanistan.

Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was closed by the authorities on Tuesday after the murder of the Pakistani diplomat. All the passengers and goods traffic was suspended on both sides of the crossing including NATO supplies. People willing to cross on foot were also not allowed as the gate was closed.

Published in Daily Times, November 8^th 2017.