Kabul Miffed Over Pakistan's Investigation of Alleged Abduction, Torture of Afghan Envoy's Daughter
12:03 GMT 10.08.2021 (Updated: 18:01 GMT 08.12.2022)
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Silsila Alikhil, the 26-year-old daughter of Afghanistan's envoy to Pakistan was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by unidentified people for several hours in Islamabad last month. The incident happened when Alikhil was on her way back home from the Jinnah supermarket in the capital city of Pakistan.
The foreign ministry of Afghanistan on Tuesday alleged that Pakistan has not yet been able to say who abducted and tortured the daughter of Najibullah Alikhil, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan on 16 July.
A delegation from the Afghan ministry visited Pakistan to receive an update on the status of the investigation into the case.
"During this visit, the Pakistani side shared some information and findings with the Afghan delegation on this case. However, the remarks by the Pakistani officials pointed at a different version of the case and unfortunately did not discuss the basic issues such as how did the incident happen and the identification of the perpetrators," the ministry statement said.
Citing medical reports as proof of Silsila's assault, Kabul has reiterated that the victim will be cooperating in the investigative process to lead to her kidnappers.
Once again, Afghanistan has urged Pakistan to identify and prosecute the people who assaulted the daughter of the ambassador.
MoFA Statement Regarding Outcomes of Afghan Delegation’s Visit to Islamabad
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (@mfa_afghanistan) August 10, 2021
August 10, 2021
---------------------------https://t.co/T10PLsw4gm pic.twitter.com/C5mlyXtK9s
Last month, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed rejected the claim that Silsila was ever kidnapped in the first place.
Ahmed said that "there is a huge difference between her claim and our findings".
Pakistan has also noted that probing authorities have watched over 700 hours of CCTV footage and searched 200 taxis during their probe, but has not found any evidence to support Afghanistan's claim so far.
It has also criticised Delhi for its alleged role in spreading "anti-Pakistan propaganda" globally after India said Islamabad had stooped to a new low by dismissing Silsila's version of the incident.
Independent organizations including EU DisinfoLab have established India’s credentials as purveyor of anti-Pakistan propaganda globally. Even recently, Indian propaganda machinery was active against Pakistan in circulating fake pictures of the Ambassador’s daughter. 2/2
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) July 22, 2021
The alleged abduction of Silsila has sparked a major diplomatic row between Pakistan and Afghanistan. On 18 July, Ambassador Najibullah Alikhil was recalled until "all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of the abduction".
