Islamabad May 18 (IANS) Two staffers at the Pakistan embassy in Kabul were detained by the Afghan intelligence and freed after some three hours dealing another blow to Kabul-Islamabad ties.
Hassan Khanzada and Syed Munir Shah were at a Kabul market on Wednesday when they were picked up by members of the National Directorate of Security the intelligence agency of Afghanistan media reports said.
They were taken to a detention centre along with the embassy s official vehicle Dawn reported. Khanzada a visa assistant at the embassy was manhandled it said.
Shah is a staff driver at the embassy.
The Pakistan embassy approached the Afghan Foreign Ministry and sought their immediate release.
On Wednesday Pakistan s Foreign Office summoned the Afghan Deputy Head of Mission Zardasht Shams and lodged a protest over the incident.
Dawn said the incident had dealt another blow to the already fraught ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The incident took place amid efforts by the US-led coalition in Afghanistan to mend fences between Islamabad and Kabul in the aftermath of border clashes in which about a dozen lives were lost.
Dawn said there were serious concerns about the safety and security of Pakistani diplomats and embassy staff in Kabul.
--IANS
mr-ksk/
Pakistani embassy staff held by Afghan intelligence (Lead)
