Kidnapped US national alleged to get involved in intelligence work

IRNA -- The US national, who had been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen from his residence in the Pakistani city of Lahore at the weekend, was engaged in intelligence gathering, a provincial minister said in comments on Thursday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction of Dr Warren Weinstein and reports now say that the American FBI agents have joined the Pakistani police in search of the missing man.

Law Minister of Punjab province, Rana Sanaullah, claimed that the abducted US citizen was collecting information on sensitive matters and his activities were quite suspect.

The Minister told The News daily that the information they had collected from his three guards and the driver revealed that he was staying in Lahore with some agenda.

He said Dr Warren Weinstein had been involved in mysterious activities like those of Raymond Davis, a CIA undercover agent who was arrested in Lahore in February after he shot dead two Pakistanis in a crowded marketplace.

The minister said the US national was kidnapped by some unknown people and the police with the help of different intelligence agencies were holding a joint investigation to trace him.

He claimed that the investigators are of the firm belief that his guards were involved in his abduction as it is very difficult to kidnap anyone from his house in Lahore and later shift him to an unknown place.

He stated the US citizen used to move to different areas of Pakistan and the question arises as to why he was abducted from Lahore. He claimed that the guards must be involved in providing information to the abductors.

Meanwhile, a three-member team of Americans along with Lahore police officers visited the residence of Warren Weinstein in Model Town area on Wednesday.

The visitors inspected the crime scene where they were briefed regarding police efforts to recover Weinstein and arrest the culprits. They were also informed about the apprehension that the abductors might have transported their victim to Afghanistan.

It is pertinent to mention that despite the lapse of four days, the investigators could not make any major progress in the case. Similarly, neither the police nor the officials of American Consulate had received any ransom demand from the abductors.

Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA