Selsela Alikhil ( ps, سلسله علي‌خېل), also spelled Silsila Alikhel, is the daughter of an Afghan envoy, Najibullah Alikhil. She was kidnapped on 16 July 2021 at 1.45pm in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, where her father was serving as the ambassador of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Silsila lost consciousness as she was beaten by an attacker who forcefully entered her taxi on her way home, and upon regaining consciousness, she found that her hands and legs had been tied. She was retrieved around 7pm near

F-9 Park Fatima Jinnah Park ( ur, ), also known as Capital Park or F-9 Park, is a public recreational park that spans the whole of Sector F-9 of Islamabad, Pakistan. It is named after ''Mādar-e Millat'' Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of the founder ...

, Islamabad. Her medical report showed that she had some swelling in her brain due to blows to her head and she had torture marks on her body.

Reactions

Pakistani government

On 17 July, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed that Selsela Alikhil had been assaulted and said the government was trying to apprehend the culprits, but in an about-turn on 18 July, the Pakistani interior minister,

Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad ( ur, ; born 6 November 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 38th Interior Minister of Pakistan from 2020 to 2022. He is famous because of his smoking cigars and Laal Haveli. He is the founder and leader of A ...

, claimed that she was not kidnapped at all but that it was a conspiracy against Pakistan by the Indian intelligence agency. This allegation was strongly rejected by the Afghan Foreign Ministry, while the

Indian Ministry of External Affairs The Ministry of External Affairs (abbreviated as MEA; hi, विदेश मंत्रालय, Videśa Mantrālaya, translit-std=ISO) of India is the government agency responsible for implementing Indian foreign policy. The Ministry of Ex ...

described Pakistan's denial of the kidnapping as "stooping to a new low."

Afghan government

In reaction to the incident, Afghanistan withdrew its ambassador and top diplomats from Pakistan's capital until all security threats to them were neutralized.

Protests

A large group of Afghans protested against the incident outside the Embassy of Pakistan in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghan diaspora Afghan diaspora refers to the Afghan people that reside and work outside of Afghanistan. They include citizens of Afghanistan who have immigrated to other countries. The majority of the diaspora has been formed by Afghan refugees since the star ...

protested against the incident across the globe, including in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. They expressed their displeasure over Pakistan's support for the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

and called for a permanent ceasefire in Afghanistan. There were protests in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 23 July, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 24 July, and in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

on 25 July. In

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, activists from the

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; ps, پښتون ژغورنې غورځنګ ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; ur, , lit=Pashtun Protection Movement) is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...

(PTM) protested on 23 July in front of the Pakistan Embassy against the kidnapping of Selsela Alikhil and the alleged abduction of 11-year-old Ulus Yar Khan by the Pakistan intelligence agency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alikhil, Selsela 2020s missing person cases 2021 crimes in Pakistan Events in Islamabad Incidents of violence against women July 2021 crimes in Asia July 2021 events in Pakistan Kidnappings in Pakistan Terrorism in Pakistan

Reactions

Pakistani government

Afghan government

Protests

See also

References