Gunmen kidnapped an American development expert Saturday after tricking his guards and breaking into his house.
It was a brazen raid that alarmed aid workers, diplomats and other foreigners who already tread carefully in this country rife with Islamic militancy and anti-U.S. sentiment.
The U.S. Embassy identified the victim as Warren Weinstein, the Pakistan country director for J.E. Austin Associates, a development contractor that has received millions of dollars from the aid arm of the U.S. government, according to a profile on the networking website LinkedIn.
Police declined to speculate on the motive, and no group claimed responsibility. But kidnappings for ransom are common in Pakistan, with foreigners being occasional targets. Criminal gangs are suspected in most abductions but Islamic militants are thought to also use the tactic to raise money.
Lahore has seen several militant attacks, and the Punjab region where it is located is home to several of Pakistan’s top militant networks. Some are suspected of ties to Pakistani intelligence.
Police said the American, believed to be in his 60s, had returned to his home in Lahore the previous night from the capital, Islamabad.
He had told his staff that would be wrapping up his latest project and moving out of Pakistan by Monday, police officer Tajammal Hussain said.
According to Pakistani police, two of the kidnappers showed up at Weinstein’s house Saturday and told the guards inside the gate of the walled compound that they wanted to give them food, an act common during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The guards opened the gate, and five other men suddenly appeared. The armed assailants overpowered the guards and stormed into the house. Some gunmen are thought to have entered through the back. They snatched the American from his bedroom but took nothing else.
A Pakistani friend of Weinstein said he was working on a development project financed by the U.S. government in the tribal regions, a largely lawless area where militants operate along the border with Afghanistan.
“He had worked in many countries in difficult circumstances,” said the Pakistani acquaintance, who asked not to be identified.
People who know him said he tried to assimilate into the local culture and wore the Pakistani national dress, baggy trousers and a long tunic known as a shalwar kameez, and could speak functional Urdu.
The audacious nature of Saturday’s abduction raised the likelihood that diplomatic missions, aid groups and contracting companies would further tighten security. Already, many groups severely restrict travel by international staff because the groups fear kidnapping.
The security concerns heavily affect U.S. aid programs and have served to slow the disbursement of billions of dollars in promised funds because they limit where American diplomats are allowed to go and what projects can be safely undertaken.
Americans in Pakistan are considered especially at risk because militants oppose Islamabad’s alliance with Washington and the war in Afghanistan. AP
