Brother of Afghan finance minister kidnapped

Kabul: Gunmen in Pakistan kidnapped the brother of Afghanistan's finance minister while he was walking to his mother's home after praying at a mosque, Afghan officials said on Sunday.

Zia ul-Haq Ahadi was abducted in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Friday, said Haziz Shams, the spokesman for Afghanistan's Finance Ministry. The kidnapped man's brother is Finance Minister Anwar ul-Haq Ahadim.

Shams said it isn't known who kidnapped Ahadi. No demands had been made, and the kidnappers have not contacted officials or the Ahadi family.

Ahadi is a businessman who lives in Afghanistan and was in Peshawar to visit his mother, who is ill, said Abdul Razaq, an assistant to the finance minister.

Ahadi was walking home after Friday prayers at a neighbourhood mosque when he was taken, Razaq said.