Calling the abduction of the daughter of the Afghan envoy in Islamabad a “serious incident”, New Delhi on Thursday lashed out at Pakistan for dragging its name into the issue, saying it was “stooping to a new low”. Rejecting the whole incident of abduction, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid had earlier called the incident an “international conspiracy” specifically blaming India for it. 

At his weekly press conference, Arindam Bagchi, pokesperson of India’s External Affairs Ministry, said normally India wouldn’t comment on such an issue but Pakistan’s interior minister dragging India into it amounted to “stopping to a new low.” 

Silsila Alikhil, 26, the daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, was reportedly kidnapped and injured by unknown assailants on Friday last week in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. 

Sheikh Rashid and Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had in the last few days repeatedly questioned the whole incident, claiming the abduction story was cooked up and suggesting the role of Indian agencies.

The incident sparked a diplomatic row between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with both countries recalling their respective diplomats back home. 

Following the denial by Pakistan, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had expressed deep concern “over the continuation of the unprofessional remarks of the Minister of Interior of Pakistan in connection with the abduction of the daughter of Afghan ambassador in Islamabad”.

The Taliban has also condemned the incident and asked authorities in Pakistan to investigate the issue. 

(SAM)