A Pakistani Embassy official who was kidnapped by insurgents in Iraq over the weekend has again contacted Pakistan's mission in Baghdad to say he is safe, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. Malik Mohammed Javed, a deputy counselor at the Pakistani mission in Baghdad, went missing late Saturday after leaving his residence for prayers at a nearby mosque. A previously unknown group, Omar bin al-Khattab, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has said Javed is being held for ransom, but has given no details. Javed was allowed by his kidnappers to speak with Pakistani diplomats by telephone after his abduction, and phoned for a second time on Monday, speaking with the head of Pakistani mission in Baghdad, Iftikhar Anjum. "He (Javed) informed Iftikhar Anjum that he was safe," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Gillani told The Associated Press in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. "This is the latest situation. We are making efforts to get him released," the spokesman said without elaborating.
