JEDDAH, 17 November — The Saudi director of the Islamabad branch of Al-Haramain Charitable Foundation has been missing since Nov. 7 after setting off for Kabul to supervise the distribution of relief supplies there.
The Saudi Embassy in Pakistan said it had no information about Nasir Muhammad Al-Ghilan, 35, who comes from Riyadh and joined the charity last year.
According to Al-Watan daily, Al-Ghilan’s relatives had tried to contact him, but without success. Al-Ghilan, who is not married, last visited his family during Ramadan last year.
Oqail ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Oqail, director general of the Riyadh-based foundation, said they had heard nothing about Al-Ghilan since the fall of Kabul.
"He arrived in Kabul on Nov. 5, before the fall of the Afghan capital to the Northern Alliance. There has been no information about him since Nov. 7. He went there on a temporary basis to supervise the foundation’s relief activities," he added.
The foundation has allocated SR10 million for relief work in Afghanistan, Al-Oqail said, adding that it would continue its project for another two months.
Al-Oqail said the foundation had informed the embassy in Islamabad that Al-Ghilan was missing. "The embassy on its part will inform international agencies to look for him," he said.
It is believed that Al-Ghilan might have fled Kabul when Northern Alliance forces entered the city.
The Saudi charity has been working in Pakistan for the past eight years. Established about 10 years ago, the foundation has an annual budget of SR150-200 million.
