Portuguese ambassador to Pakistan in very close shave on Afghan border

A ‘caravan of diplomats’ – including Portugal’s ambassador to Pakistan Frederico Silva – had a miraculous escape when a mine exploded as they motored close to the Afghan border. A policeman was killed and three others injured, but the vehicle in which ambassadors from Russia, Iran, Portugal, Turkistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Bosnia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Vietnam managed to emerge unscathed. A police source has explained that “the diplomats were participating in a trip organised by Islamabad and the Swat Chamber of Commerce to promote local trade, known for its handicrafts and precious stones”. According to reports, the trip was planned for a region that is “a bastion of Pakistani Taliban”. Yet, disarmingly, the ambassador has described that ‘an attack’ of the kind suffered was “atypical”.