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Pakistani abducted diplomats 'safely recovered' in Afghanistan

Two Pakistani diplomatic who were abducted in Afghanistan last month have been "safely recovered" in a security operation Wednesday (26), the foreign ministry in Islamabad said.

"The two diplomatic officials of the consulate general of Pakistan in Jalalabad who were abducted while travelling from Jalalabad to Torkham on 16 June 2017 have been safely recovered today in Afghanistan," the ministry said in a statement.


Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani phoned Pakistan's Charge d'Affaires in Kabul to inform that the Afghan security forces had recovered the two Pakistani officials in a security operation, the statement said.

The pair had been handed over to Pakistani embassy in Kabul and would be flown home soon, it added.

Relations between the neighbours have soured over claims that Pakistan secretly supports insurgents trying to topple the Afghan government.

Afghan officials frequently accuse Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and providing sanctuary for the guerrillas on its soil in hopes of maintaining influence in Afghanistan.

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until they were toppled by a US-led invasion in 2001. They have battled the Kabul government and its foreign allies ever since.

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Pope Leo says 'I have no fear' of Trump en route to Algeria

Highlights

  • Trump called Pope Leo "WEAK on Crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy" on social media.
  • Pope said he has "no fear" of Trump administration and will keep speaking out against war.
  • Leo's 11-day Africa tour covers Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Pope Leo XIV landed in Algeria on Monday for the first ever papal visit to the Muslim-majority country, but the trip was immediately overshadowed by an extraordinary public row with US president Donald Trump.
Just hours before Leo left Rome, Trump posted a lengthy attack on Truth Social, calling the pontiff "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" and telling reporters: "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo."

The feud stems from Leo's growing criticism of the US-Israeli war with Iran. At an evening prayer vigil in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the same day US and Iranian delegations began face-to-face ceasefire talks in Pakistan, the pope said a "delusion of omnipotence" was fuelling global conflict and called on world leaders to sit at the table of dialogue rather than plan rearmament.

Trump took the remarks personally, saying the pope "thinks it's ok for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," a claim Leo never made.

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