KABUL: A Pakistani diplomat was shot and killed in Afghanistan on Monday, officials said, but the motive for the deadly attack was not immediately clear. Two assailants riding a motorbike opened fire on Nayyar Iqbal Rana as he bought goods at a shop in the eastern city of Jalalabad, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan told AFP.
“When he went to the hospital he was pronounced dead,” Khan said.
Nangarhar governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani confirmed the deadly attack.
“Police have launched an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made so far,” Khogyani told AFP. Rana was the assistant to the consul general in Jalalabad, the capital of restive Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan. Khan said he had “absolutely no idea” why Rana, a father of five, was targeted.-AFP
OUR REPORTER ADDS FROM ISB: Foreign Office on Monday summoned top Afghan diplomat and lodged with him Pakistan’s strong protest over the gruesome murder of a Pakistani diplomatic official in Jalalabad.
Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that a diplomatic official of the Consulate General of Pakistan in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, was shot dead at a shop near his residence in Jalalabad by assailants riding a motor bike.
He stated that 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, he added
The President and the Prime Minister in separate messages, also strongly condemned this heinous act and conveyed their deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family.
The Foreign Minister in his message 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.
The officers and staff of the Foreign Ministry also extended their most heartfelt condolences to Nayyar Iqbal Rana’s family, who had completed his three-year tenure in Jalalabad and was due to return to Headquarters.
The 52-year-old Rana leaves behind a widow and five children.
