U.S. aid agency closes 33 offices in Pakistan after employees killed
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The U.S.-based aid organization Mercy Corps (MC) decided Tuesday to close down at least 33 offices in Balochistan and Sindh provinces in south Pakistan following the killing of its drivers by his abductors.
Four employees of Mercy Corps, Ifthakar Ahmed Shah, Babrak, Mohammad Asif and driver Habibullah Kakar, had been kidnapped by unidentified armed men at Qila Saifullah in Balochistan when they were on their way from Zhob to Quetta on Feb. 18.
The kidnappers, who have been asking for hefty sums for ransom, killed Kakar recently after the aid organization and the family members of the kidnapped driver failed to comply with their demands.
Haji Mohammad Hanif Kakar, a close relative of the slain driver, confirmed the killing and told the media that he had visited the Mercy Corps office along with two other family members, Haji Mohammad Hassan and Haji Abdul Sattar, where they were informed that the organization administration had received a video compact disk (CD) from the kidnappers showing the driver being beheaded by the kidnappers.
"The video showed masked kidnappers taking Habibullah in the mountainous areas where he was slaughtered by his captors," said Hanif Kakar.
The kidnappers, who are asking for a ransom of one million rupee (about 12,000 U.S. dollars), have threatened to kill the other three abducted workers if their demands are not met.
Balochistan chief of Mercy Corps Dr. Saadullah confirmed the closure of all offices of his organization in Balochistan and Sindh after the killing of the driver. He citied "insecurity" as the main reason for taking the crucial decision.
Mercy Corps is working on 25 different projects in various districts of Balochistan, Saadullah told Xinhua.
It is the first time that a staff member of a non-governmental foreign organization has been killed in Balochistan since the killing of a driver, Mohammad Hashim, of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the abduction of its American chief John Solecki in February 2009.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of Red Cross had also decided to restrict its activities in Balochistan last month after receiving threats from the Baloch Liberation United Front (BLUF), a Baloch nationalist militant organization in Pakistan.
