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Police seek seized American U.N. worker in Pakistan
Abdul Sattar - Associated Press
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: News
QUETTA, Pakistan - Gunmen seized an American U.N. worker as he rode to work Monday, shooting and killing his driver, U.N. and Pakistani authorities said. His Land Cruiser was found rammed against a wall, punctured by at least one bullet hole.
The United Nations expressed "extreme shock and dismay" at the rare attack in a region that has largely been spared the al-Qaida and Taliban insurgency wracking much of northwestern Pakistan.
The government called the abduction of John Solecki, head of the U.N. refugee office in the southwestern city of Quetta, a "dastardly terrorist act." But police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible.
Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province, which partly borders Afghanistan. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has worked for three decades in the region helping hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing violence in their homeland.
Police increased patrols and security checks along roads leading to Afghanistan, some 60 miles (95 kilometers) away, fearing Solecki may be taken there.
The United Nations expressed "extreme shock and dismay" at the rare attack in a region that has largely been spared the al-Qaida and Taliban insurgency wracking much of northwestern Pakistan.
The government called the abduction of John Solecki, head of the U.N. refugee office in the southwestern city of Quetta, a "dastardly terrorist act." But police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible.
Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province, which partly borders Afghanistan. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has worked for three decades in the region helping hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing violence in their homeland.
Police increased patrols and security checks along roads leading to Afghanistan, some 60 miles (95 kilometers) away, fearing Solecki may be taken there.
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