Daily Times

The prime minister was right to order a very urgent investigation into the matter of the “abduction and torture” of the Afghan ambassador’s daughter in Islamabad. Law enforcement agencies have been given 48 hour to find the culprits and bring them to justice. That the daughter of the ambassador of such an important country can be abducted on her way back from the federal capital’s commercial hub and tortured before being thrown on some street with her hands and feet tied is simply unacceptable and brings unimaginable shame to the host country. It’s no surprise really that the Afghan press is now busy blowing the Afghan foreign office’s official statement about the matter completely out of proportion and questioning the safety of foreign officials posted inside Pakistan.

Nothing can be said for sure until the final report from the investigation is out, of course, but it seems like a pretty safe bet that this was not just a random incident. Our intelligence agencies know for sure that certain outside forces are doing whatever they can to hurt Pak-Afghan relations, which have been on knife-edge for quite a while, at this particular historical juncture when the Americans have left and the Taliban are tightening the noose around Kabul. That makes it all the more important for the interior ministry to make sure that the prime minister’s orders are carried out in letter and spirit and this matter is kept from deteriorating any further.

Hopefully officials would already have beefed up security for foreign missions, all their personnel and their families. These are, quite understandably, very tense times for the security establishment and the smallest spark could well light the fuse of the next regional conflict. Since both Pakistan and Afghanistan can do without another such confrontation, the latter’s foreign office has exercised restraint in its reaction and acted responsibly, which must be appreciated. This matter should come to a conclusion that is acceptable to all parties sooner rather than later. *