South Asia News
Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan released from tribal region
By DPA
May 17, 2008, 7:03 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, abducted around three months ago in the country's restive tribal region, has been released, media reports said Saturday.

Tariq Azizuddin was handed over by militants to the authorities on Friday night.

He would travel to Islamabad on Saturday to reunite with his family, the Express News and several other news channels reported.

No government official was immediately available for confirmation.

Azizuddin, his driver and bodyguard went missing in the troubled tribal district of Khyber Agency when they were travelling by road from the Pakistani city of Peshawar to the Afghan capital of Kabul on February 11.

In mid April, Dubai-based al-Arabiya television aired a video which showed Azizuddin in Taliban captivity.

'We were kidnapped by mujahedin from Taliban,' he said in the video, while urging the Pakistani government to meet the demands of the kidnappers.