<div><p>Gunmen kidnapped a top American UN official and killed his driver in Pakistan Monday, in the most high-profile recent Western abduction in a country struggling to contain extremist violence.</p><p>John Solecki, head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the southwestern city of Quetta, was snatched at gunpoint while travelling to work in the capital of Baluchistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.</p><p>Quetta, which has an estimated population of just under one million, is considered a possible refuge for Taliban leaders who fled Afghanistan after the US-led invasion in late 2001 that toppled the hardline regime.</p><p>Gunmen ambushed Solecki's vehicle, which was marked with United Nations insignia, and opened fire, wounding the driver who later died of his injuries, UN officials and police said.</p><p>Local police official Khalid Masood told AFP that Solecki was an American national and "head of the sub-office of UNHCR-Quetta."</p><p>"They opened fire. His driver was wounded and died on the way to hospital. The gunmen took him (Solecki) away," Masood said.</p><p>A white jeep bearing the light blue UNHCR markings hit a brick wall. A small pool of blood could be seen on the pavement next to the driver's door, an AFP photographer witnessed.</p><p>The ambush, which is likely to raise concerns about increasing violence in Pakistan, came as US lawmakers met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad and two days before UN chief Ban Ki-moon was expected to visit.</p><p>Ban, who is currently attending a summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, was "deeply distressed" to learn about the attack on Solecki and his driver and called for Solecki's "immediate and safe release," UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York.</p><p>"He condemns, in the strongest terms, attacks on UN staff who serve the neediest people around the world," she added in a statement. "Such acts are aimed, not only against UN personnel, but also against those they serve selflessly and with dedication."</p><p>The United Nations earlier expressed its "extreme shock and dismay" at Solekci's kidnapping and the killing of his driver, Syed Hashim, and emphasised that it was "taking all possible measures to secure" Solecki's release.</p><p>Baluchistan province has rich energy resources but is rife with regional insurgency, sectarian violence and attacks blamed on Islamist extremists, making it difficult to pinpoint quickly who was behind the assault.</p><p>Hundreds of people have died in insurgent unrest in the province since 2004, when rebels began demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from Baluchistan's natural resources.</p><p>Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi denounced the ambush as an "unfortunate and dastardly terrorist act."</p><p>"The government of Pakistan is taking all necessary measures for the safe and early recovery of Mr Solecki," he added.</p><p>"We have asked the authorities to close the Chaman border (with Afghanistan) and also step up the monitoring of unfrequented routes," police chief Masood told AFP.</p><p>Police said a task force had been set up to "fast-track" investigations.</p><p>Kidnappings of foreigners in Baluchistan are rare, although they are more common in northwest Pakistan, which also borders Afghanistan.</p><p>The last abduction of a foreigner reported in Baluchistan was in 1991 when a group of Afghan fighters kidnapped three Chinese engineers and took them across the border into Afghanistan. They were later released.</p><p>The deputy inspector general of Baluchistan police, Wazir Khan Nasir, said it was "too early to say who might be involved" in Solecki's abduction, but said authorities had extended adequate security to UN agencies in the area.</p><p>Another police official told AFP: "We cannot rule out that Islamist militants were involved given their activities all over the country, especially in the northwest."</p><p>Kidnappings have multiplied in recent months in northwest Pakistan.</p><p>In separate incidents last November, gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat, Hashmatullah Atharzadeh, and abducted a Canadian journalist.</p><p>Suspected Taliban militants are still holding Afghan Consul General Abdul Khaliq Farahi, kidnapped near Peshawar nearly two months ago.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=41765380&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP South Asian Edition</a></div></div>