Two Bangladeshi officials of Brac stationed in Afghanistan were abducted by unidentified miscreants from Kunduz on Thursday afternoon.
The abducted were Chief Engineer Haji Shawkat Hossain and Chief Accountant Sirajul Islam, both hailing from Pabna.
Brac’s Senior Media Manager Mahbubul Alam Kabir said Shawkat and Siraj, along with another official, were going to Baghlan from Kunduz when their vehicle was intercepted by armed men around 4pm local time. Later, the abductors released one of the officials who is an Afghanistan national.
“We have informed the Foreign Ministry about the abduction,” Mahbub told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. He said local law enforcers were searching for the abducted officials.
“They are unsure which groups were involved in the abduction as nobody has yet claimed responsibility,” Mahbub added. A Brac team from Kabul was on its way to Kunduz to investigate the matter.
Brac’s communication chief Rony Mirza said their team could not meet local officials in Kunduz because of Nawruz, the Afghan New Year.
“It is more worrisome because neither the family members of the victims nor we have received any updates. We will disclose updates on the situation as soon as we receive it. Right now our team there is trying their best to know about our officials’ whereabouts,” he told the Dhaka Tribune last night.
Siraj’s cousin Abdul Khaleque Khan, director of Ansar and VDP Bank, said: “Siraj last contacted his wife here around 4pm Bangladesh time on Thursday when he was heading towards Baghlan. An hour later, a Brac official named Shahidul Islam called and informed about the abduction.”
Siraj’s family urged Bangladesh government to ensure every possible steps to found them alive. Bangladeshi Brac officials stationed in Aghanistan have been targeted over the years since it started operations there in 2002.
According to Brac sources, some 860 officials, among whom 68 are Bangladeshi nationals, are working at 64 offices situated in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, running projects on education, health and infrastructure development.
