A UNHCR official and his bodyguard were shot dead by unidentified gunmen during a failed kidnapping bid in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, police said.
Zill-e-Usman, a Pakistani national working as a field officer for the UNHCR in Peshawar, and his bodyguard Allah Din were going to a hospital at Kacha Garhi relief camp when four gunmen tried to kidnap him.
The bodyguard opened fire at the gunmen, sparking an exchange of fire. Zill-e-Usman was killed on the spot while the bodyguard sustained critical injuries and died later in hospital, said Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Abdul Ghafoor.
One of the kidnappers was injured in the shootout but his accomplices took him away from the site. People displaced by military operations against the militants in the Bajaur tribal region are housed in the Kacha Garhi camp.
The UN strongly condemned the killing.
It said Zill-e-Usman was married and left behind four children. "The UN community in Pakistan is once again devastated to have had yet another of its staff members a victim of a brutal attack," said UN Resident Coordinator Fikret Akcura.