Pak kidnappers set free American UN official

The American UN official kidnapped in Pakistan two months ago was released unharmed yesterday, ending the most high profile hostage ordeal for a Westerner here since Daniel Pearl's 2002 killing.
John Solecki, the local head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), was snatched at gunpoint in Quetta, the capital of the southwestern province of Baluchistan, on February 2. His driver was killed during the abduction.
"I can confirm that he has been released," UN spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told AFP. "A UN team has met him. He seems all right. The priority will be to get him medical attention."
Pagonis later said that Solecki had already left Pakistan. "He is on his way home. He was flown from Quetta," she told AFP, declining to give any further details.
Pakistan's interior ministry chief, Rehman Malik, confirmed that Solecki had been released after an ordeal lasting nearly nine weeks and said that preparations were being made to reunite him with his family.