Muslim convert Khalil Dale, 59, from Dumfries in Scotland, was snatched and bundled into a car as he drove home in Quetta, close to the country’s borders with Iran and Afghanistan. The kidnap came just 200 yards from an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) residence – the organisation for which Dale was working.

A spokesman for the charity said that colleagues were “very concerned” for his welfare.

A senior police officer in Quetta said that Dale had been abducted by unknown gunmen riding in a Landcruiser.

While the identity of the assailants remains unknown, Quetta is the main town of the insurgency-hit Baluchistan province, and is said to be be home to the Taliban’s leadership council.

According to Scotland’s Daily Record, Quetta is considered to be a centre for a considerable portion of Taliban activity.

In 2009, an American UN worker was abducted in the city and held for two months.

A statement from the ICRC called for “the rapid and unconditional release of its kidnapped staff member”.

Picture: Getty