[Dawn] An unknown gang has kidnapped a female Afghan member of parliament, officials said Wednesday, in the latest example of prominent women being targeted in the country.Fariba Ahmadi Kakar and her three children were taken at gunpoint on Saturday in the central province of Ghazni on the main highway from Kandahar city to Kabul.
"The security forces released her children (two girls, one boy) in an operation on Monday. But she has been kept in another location, we are still searching for her," Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, deputy provincial governor of Ghazni, told AFP.
"The town elders are also involved in talks with the kidnappers to secure her release," he added, giving no further details about the identity of the kidnap gang.
Several other officials in Ghazni and Kandahar confirmed the kidnapping, and dismissed interior ministry reports that Kakar was on a trip to Turkey.
Kakar's family earlier denied she had been taken hostage, with some relatives telling AFP she was in hospital.
Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that he was not aware of the kidnapping.