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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| Pakistan to shift Iraq envoy to Jordan after attack | |
| 2005-07-06 | |
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is to withdraw its ambassador from violence-plagued Iraq after the envoy said he had a âvery narrow escapeâ from an attack on his convoy in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Khan, who was only posted to Baghdad around two months ago, said gunmen in two cars opened fire on his vehicle when he was around a kilometre (half a mile) from the Pakistani embassy. âI was returning to my home when two cars came from behind. There were armed men inside and they fired at my car. But luckily the bullets didnât hit my car,â Khan said. Security guards in another car travelling with him immediately opened fire on his attackers, Khan said, adding that âsome bullets hit one of the attackersâ cars.â âWe sped out of danger but it was an extremely dangerous situation,â he said. Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Naeem Khan said no one was injured in the attack on the envoyâs convoy. âWe have been watching the security situation in Iraq and we have decided to relocate the ambassador to Amman. But this in no way dilutes our commitment to continuing to work for a peaceful and stable Iraq,â he told AFP. Ambassador Khan added: âIt is not safe because the security situation here is extremely bad.â In April, an employee at the Pakistani embassy in Baghdad was abducted as he went to a mosque for evening prayers. Malik Mohammad Javed, a non-diplomatic official at the Pakistani mission, was freed two weeks later after Islamabad sent a special envoy to the Iraqi capital. Pakistan denied paying a ransom. In July 2004, two migrant workers from Pakistani Kashmir were killed in Iraq after their captors alleged they were spying for the United States and that Pakistan was planning to deploy troops in Iraq. Another kidnapped Pakistani, Amjad Hafeez, was released the same month after eight days in captivity. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |