ALI HUSSAIN, NUZHAT NAZAR & FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: The Nepalese authorities have not yet shared any information with Pakistan regarding a missing Pakistani retired army officer, Lt-Col Mohammad Habib Zahir (retd), who disappeared in mysterious circumstances in the country, said Javed Imrani, Pakistan’s charge d’affairs in Pakistan’s Embassy in Kathmandu.

“We are in close contact with Nepal’s Ministry of Affairs, it’s a public holiday in Nepal today but they have not yet shared anything with us officially which could lead to his [Habib] whereabouts”, Imrani told Business Recorder over the phone from Nepal.

Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria on Thursday told in his weekly media briefing that the role of “hostile agencies” in his disappearance cannot be ruled out.

Lt Col Habib Zahir (retd) is a retired army officer, who went to Nepal for a job interview. “In view of the emails and subsequent revelation about the fake account etc, it is a case of entrapment. We can’t rule out involvement of hostile agencies in his disappearance”, Zakaria said, adding the government of Pakistan has taken up the issue with the Nepal’s government and is actively pursuing the matter.

An ISPR official declined to comment on the issue, saying the Foreign Office is dealing with matter. The Director General of ISPR Lt General Asif Ghafoor did not respond to queries forwarded to him by Business Recorder.

However, Business Recorder contacted at Habib’s residence in Pakistan and was told in uncertain terms that “you need to approach the Foreign Office for your queries”.

As per e-mail exchanges of the missing retired army officer with his purported employer, Mark Thomson, senior recruiter (Middle East & APAC), Strategic Solutions, Habib made initial contact through a website ‘stratsolutions.biz’ (which is no longer accessible) on Jan 27, 2017 and received a call from Thomson on March 17, 2017 from a UK cell No 00447451203722 which was later identified as an internet generated phone number.

According to the travel record, Col Habib (retd) was invited for a job interview to Oman on April 6, 2017 but was then told by his supposed employer to proceed to Nepal for the interview.

Consequently, he arrived in Kathmandu and on the same day left for Lumbini municipality 5 km away from the Indian border, where his interview was scheduled.

After reaching Lumbini at 1 pm he sent a message from a Nepalese cell phone to his wife about his safely landing at Lumbini. Since then, his cell numbers (Nepal and Pakistan) are switched off and there is no trace of him. Col Habib (retd) had been working in Faisalabad since his retirement from the army in 2014. A few months earlier he had uploaded his CV on LinkedIn and UN websites.

As per his CV, Col Habib (retd) has served in various positions in ISI at different stations from Feb 2003 to Sep 2009. Besides, he has also served as contingent commander, Pakistan formed police unit at United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.