Daughter of Afghan envoy to Pakistan briefly kidnapped - government

Afghanistan has withdrawn its ambassador and diplomats from Pakistan's capital following the kidnapping of the ambassador's daughter.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020. (photo credit: MOHAMMAD ISMAIL/REUTERS)
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not pictured) at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan November 19, 2020.
(photo credit: MOHAMMAD ISMAIL/REUTERS)
The daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped by unknown assailants who left her with injuries and rope marks, officials and a hospital report said on Saturday.
Silsila Alikhil was going home on Friday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad when she was seized for several hours and "severely tortured," Afghanistan's foreign ministry said.
"After being released from the kidnappers' captivity, Ms Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital," it added, urging an investigation and protection for Afghan diplomats.
A medical examination report, shared on social media and confirmed by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences state hospital where Alikhil was treated, said she was admitted with swelling and rope marks on the wrists and ankles.
The report gave her age as 26, said she was held for more than five hours and also noted she had some swelling in the brain's rear occipital region.
Amid widespread consternation over the case in both nations, Afghan authorities summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul to lodge a formal complaint.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Afghan embassy had informed it Alikhil was assaulted while riding in a rented vehicle. Police were investigating the "disturbing incident" and security had been tightened for the ambassador and his family, it said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted the matter treated as top priority and the culprits caught within 48 hours, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.
Neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan have long had frosty ties. Kabul accuses Pakistan of allowing safe havens for Taliban insurgents, while Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing militants to use their territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
Afghanistan has withdrawn its ambassador and diplomats from Pakistan's capital following the kidnapping of the ambassador's daughter, the Afghan foreign ministry said on Sunday.
"The Afghan government recalled the ambassador and senior diplomats to Kabul until complete elimination of the security threats including the arrest and punishment of the perpetrators," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. A Pakistani foreign office spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.