Abducted UN official released in Pakistan

Islamabad: A UN official who was abducted in Pakistan two months ago was released by his captors on Saturday, the Online news agency reported.

The Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), a little known separatist group active in southwestern Pakistan, told the news agency that John Solecki, the regional head of the UN refugee agency in Balochistan, was freed on “humanitarian grounds”.

Solecki was abducted by some armed men following an ambush in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, in February.

The BLUF, which had claimed to have kidnapped Solecki, demanded the release of some of their men detained by law enforcement agencies in exchange for the UN official.

Abducted UN hostage is alive: BLUF

Shehek Baloch, a spokesman of the BLUF, telephoned the news agency's office in Quetta from an undisclosed location Saturday evening, saying: “John Solecki has been released on humanitarian grounds.”

And his release “should serve as a message to the UN and the global community that Balochs are not terrorists, but an educated and civilised nation”.

According to the spokesman, Solecki was released from the Khad Koocha area, near Mastung, some 50 km south of Quetta.

However, US officials in Islamabad could not confirm the report about Solecki's release.

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