Scottish Red Cross worker kidnapped in Pakistani danger zone

Khalil Rasjed Dale was on his way home when his car was stopped by a gang of seven or eight armed men with scarves covering their faces.

They took him from his vehicle and bundled him into a Jeep before driving off at 1pm local time (8am GMT) yesterday.

District inspector general Nazir Kurd, the city’s senior officer, said the Red Cross health programme manager had just visited a local school when the kidnap took place in a closely-guarded area of the city that is home to offices and accommodation for Red Cross staff, as well as other international bodies including the United Nations.

Mr Dale, who is known as Ken in Dumfries where he was raised, was travelling with a Pakistani doctor and a driver at the time. They were not taken. The abductors took off in the direction of a highway that leads from Quetta to Chaman, a town on the border with Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, according to police.

Officer Ahsan Mehboob said: “We have blocked all entry and exit points and deployed heavy contingents of police.”

Last night, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it did not know the kidnappers’ identities or motives.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

Quetta is close to the Afghan border in the Baluchistan province, which is home to Islamist militants and separatist insurgents.

Last week, a suicide bomb attack in Quetta killed 15 people and injured at least 20 more. Separatist group Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the 30 December bombing.

Mr Dale, 60, worked as a casualty nurse at the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and as a medic on North Sea oil rigs before providing healthcare in some of the world’s most war-torn regions.

Before leaving for Pakistan 11 months ago, he lived in a rented cottage in Beeswing, Dumfries and Galloway.

His former landlord, Charles Schooling, received an e-mail from him earlier this week.

He said: “He told me he was still in Quetta and was keeping fine. Ken is a very fine chap. He has had a lot of experience and knows how to cope with danger.”

Mr Dale’s work has taken him to Libya, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iran, where he was placed under house arrest during the revolution.

He returned to the UK to study for a degree in anthropology and geography at London University, before going to Somalia where, between 1991 and 1993, he set up a Red Cross programme in Bardera. At the time, about 350 people were dying every day, out of a population of 17,000.

Mr Dale, who is trained in tropical medicine and fluent in Arabic and Swahili, has survived several threats to his life.

Speaking recently, he said: “I like the peace and quiet of Dumfries and Galloway, but I get restless and enjoy a challenge.

“I just get on with the job and I believe in destiny. But I’ll put it this way: I’ve made my will.”

In a statement, the ICRC called for the “rapid and unconditional release” of Mr Dale.

“The ICRC currently has no indication as to the abductors’ identities or motives. Mr Dale’s family was informed immediately,” the agency said.

“Despite the incident, the ICRC will be continuing its humanitarian work in Pakistan.”

A Foreign Office spokesman added: “We are aware of the reports and are looking into them further.”