Afghan police are working "seriously" to find an abducted American woman aid worker, but so far it has been difficult to say whether her kidnappers are criminals or Taliban terrorists, Samarai Bashary, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told The Media Line on Sunday.
"This American lady was kidnapped yesterday [Saturday] at 8am on the outskirts of Kandahar City," Bashary said.
The abducted woman was working for the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation (ARLDF). She was kidnapped from her car on her way to work, he said.
Bashary indicated that a few months ago the Interior Ministry announced that all foreigners working in remote areas should register with the police. The aid worker failed to do so and had no body guards.
Asked if he felt Taliban strength was growing in southern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry’s official said kidnapping was not an indicator of the Taliban’s strength. "Only face to face combat" abilities can indicate the enemy’s strength.
Bashary added that he was not aware of any cooperation between the local police and the U.S. army over the kidnapping investigation. He also said the Afghan government had not been in contact with ARLDF officials.
The ARLDF is an Asian-based foundation mainly dedicated to aiding the development of rural upland farming areas.
Last week, an Afghani journalist was sentenced to death for republishing an article on women’s rights which was construed as offensive to Islam.
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was detained last October on charges of blasphemy and defaming Islam.
He allegedly republished an article on the role of women in Muslim society and quoted verses from the Quran about women. His family said the articles were not authored by the journalist. They said he took them off the Internet and distributed them.
The sentence is being condemned by freedom of the press organizations.
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said over the weekend that the U.S. was concerned about the sentence passed on a reporter for basically practicing his profession.
American Ambassador to Kabul William Wood plans to discuss the case with Afghan officials.