British Red Cross worker is kidnapped by gunmen

Khalil Dale is understood to have been abducted by unidentified assailants close to his base in Quetta, in the troubled south-western Baluchistan province yesterday.

A spokesman for the charity said colleagues were “very concerned” for his welfare.

Mr Dale, a health programme manager who was seconded to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was abducted on his way home in a clearly-marked ICRC vehicle at around 1pm local time.

His assailants are said to have bundled him into a car 200 meters from an ICRC residence, in an upscale housing complex.

Nazir Kurd, a senior police official in Quetta, said Mr Dale was abducted by “unknown gunmen riding a Landcruiser” following a visit to a local school.

Another officer, Ahsan Mahboob, said the aid worker had been travelling with a Pakistani doctor and a driver who were not seized. The charity has called for his “rapid” release.