ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -- Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped an Afghan diplomat after shooting dead his driver in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, police said.
"The consul-general was going home from his office when his car was fired upon. His driver has been killed and unidentified men have kidnapped the consul-general," said an Afghan consulate official in Peshawar, who requested anonymity.
Abdul Khaliq Farahi has been Afghanistan's consul-general in Peshawar since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
An eyewitness told a Reuters journalist on the scene that two people were abducted.
"A gunman came in a car and intercepted this consulate car and shot dead the driver and took away two people," the man said.
The witness was led away by police for questioning before he could finish his account or give his name.
Afghan Laborers Abducted
In other news, Taliban insurgents have abducted more than 140 laborers from a construction firm in Afghanistan's western province of Farah, the provincial governor has said.
The laborers were civilians and were involved in building an army base in the province where the Taliban and criminal gangs are active.
They were seized by militants on September 22 while traveling in three buses on a road in Bala Boluk district of Farah, Rohul Amin told Reuters.
"The consul-general was going home from his office when his car was fired upon. His driver has been killed and unidentified men have kidnapped the consul-general," said an Afghan consulate official in Peshawar, who requested anonymity.
Abdul Khaliq Farahi has been Afghanistan's consul-general in Peshawar since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
An eyewitness told a Reuters journalist on the scene that two people were abducted.
"A gunman came in a car and intercepted this consulate car and shot dead the driver and took away two people," the man said.
The witness was led away by police for questioning before he could finish his account or give his name.
Afghan Laborers Abducted
In other news, Taliban insurgents have abducted more than 140 laborers from a construction firm in Afghanistan's western province of Farah, the provincial governor has said.
The laborers were civilians and were involved in building an army base in the province where the Taliban and criminal gangs are active.
They were seized by militants on September 22 while traveling in three buses on a road in Bala Boluk district of Farah, Rohul Amin told Reuters.
