Gunmen kidnap Afghan deputy minister in Kabul

Afghan officials say the country’s deputy public works minister has been kidnapped in the capital, Kabul.

Police say Ahmad Shah Wahid was pulled from his car as he was traveling to work in the Khir Khana district of northern Kabul.

Four armed men in a vehicle opened fire on the minister’s car and abducted Wahid while he was on his way to work, the interior ministry confirmed.

His driver was injured in the attack. Officials say they are treating the incident as a criminal matter, rather than related to the Taliban insurgency.

The motive for the kidnapping is not clear. There have been no claims of responsibility.

Many Afghan government officials have been kidnapped for ransom or assassinated in recent years.

The abduction comes ten days after Afghanistan’s presidential election, which took place amid relative peace.

Ex-finance minister Ashraf Ghani and opposition politician Abdullah Abdullah have emerged as frontrunners in the early vote count. Final results are expected next month.

Source-  THE TIMES OF EARTH and agencies