KATHMANDU: Unidentified individuals briefly abducted and tortured Silsela Alikhail — daughter of Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Najibullah Alikhail – in Pakistani capital Islamabad Friday.

Silsela was kidnapped for several hours and severely tortured while she was on her way home in Islamabad, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. The statement did not provide further details of Friday’s abduction in Islamabad.

“After being released from the kidnappers’ captivity, Ms Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital,” the statement added, urging an investigation and protection for Afghan diplomats. The 27-year-old went missing at around 2.30 pm local time near House 35, Street 13 F7/2 near Rana Market in Islamabad. Her shoes and mobile phone are still missing.

The Afghan foreign ministry expressed its “deep concern over the safety and security of diplomats, their families, and staff members of the Afghan political and consular missions in Pakistan.”

The Afghan government took the matter to the Pakistan government and has urged Islamabad to “identify and prosecute” the perpetrators at the earliest.

This was not an isolated incident where diplomats and their families have become a target. Indian diplomats in past faced harassment in the Pakistani capital. Some are of the view that such acts have become a norm of sorts.

(With inputs from Agencies)