ISLAMABAD —
The Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for kidnapping a Chinese tourist who was traveling through the country’s restive northwest.
According to district police chief Sadiq Baluch, the Chinese national had entered the country at the eastern city of Lahore, crossing into Pakistan from India on a tourist visa.
From there he appears to have traveled across the country into Dera Ismail Khan, an area where militants are active in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Baluch says the man was kidnapped on Monday.
The police chief says he was informed that two men on a motorcycle kidnapped a person traveling on a bicycle. The police gave chase for about four hours, but lost the trail. They did find his belongings, Baluch said.
Normally police are informed if any tourists are planning to travel through the area, but Bal;uch said there there was no advance notice about the Chinese visitor's trip.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and threatened to kill the tourist unless authorities release Taliban prisoners they are holding.
Two Chinese tourists were killed by militants last year while traveling in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan area.
China’s embassy in Islamabad was unavailable for comment on the latest incident.
China and Pakistan have good relations, with Beijing investing billions of dollars in the South Asian country's infrastructure.
According to district police chief Sadiq Baluch, the Chinese national had entered the country at the eastern city of Lahore, crossing into Pakistan from India on a tourist visa.
From there he appears to have traveled across the country into Dera Ismail Khan, an area where militants are active in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Baluch says the man was kidnapped on Monday.
The police chief says he was informed that two men on a motorcycle kidnapped a person traveling on a bicycle. The police gave chase for about four hours, but lost the trail. They did find his belongings, Baluch said.
Normally police are informed if any tourists are planning to travel through the area, but Bal;uch said there there was no advance notice about the Chinese visitor's trip.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and threatened to kill the tourist unless authorities release Taliban prisoners they are holding.
Two Chinese tourists were killed by militants last year while traveling in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan area.
China’s embassy in Islamabad was unavailable for comment on the latest incident.
China and Pakistan have good relations, with Beijing investing billions of dollars in the South Asian country's infrastructure.
