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Top government official kidnapped by Taliban in Pakistan

A top government administrator and six of his guards were kidnapped by Taliban militants in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley on Sunday, the group and officials said.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 15:11 February 22, 2009
  • Gulf News

Mingora: A top government administrator and six of his guards were kidnapped by Taliban militants in Pakistan's northwestern Swat valley on Sunday, the group and officials said.

Khushal Khan was headed to Mingora, the main town of Swat, in his car when he was abducted by "miscreants", Syed Mohammad Jawed, commissioner for the Malakand division, which includes Swat, said.

The kidnapping hampers peace efforts in the region. The government struck a deal with the militants to restore Sharia in the region on Monday.

A Taliban spokesman in Swat, Muslim Khan, claimed responsibility for the abduction of the administrator.

"He is our guest. We have to discuss some issues with him. We will serve him with tea and then free him," he told Reuters.

This is the latest abduction in string of incidents in the region. On Wednesday, a journalist working for a local television channel and a newspaper was abducted and killed as he accompanied a "peace march" led by a radical cleric.

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