Pakistan army's ex-officer goes missing in Nepal

Islamabad: A retired Pakistan Army officer has gone missing while visiting a Nepalese town on the Indian border for a job interview.
The ex-officer, identified as Lt Col (Rtd) Mohammad Habib, has been untraceable since Thursday from Lumbini in Nepal soon after his arrival there.

He last contacted his family on Thursday afternoon and since then his phone numbers have not been reachable, the Dawn reported.

Habib's family reported his disappearance to the Foreign Office after not having been able to reach him.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammed Nafees Zakari said the ministry has asked authorities in Nepal to look into the disappearance of Habib.

The story about the disappearance of the former military officer first surfaced in WhatsApp groups of retired military officers and was subsequently picked up by the media.

Habib, who retired in October 2014 and belonged to artillery, was currently employed with a private firm in Pakistan and had posted his CV online in search of employment.

Somebody by the name of Mark Thompson had reportedly contacted him both via email and telephone for a job interview in Nepal for which he was also provided an air ticket, the daily said.

He departed from Lahore on Wednesday and reached Kathmandu next day from where he immediately flew to Lumbini.

"In Kathmandu, the information coming from retired army officers groups and verified by military sources revealed that he was provided a Nepalese cellphone SIM card by one Javed Ansari, who received him there," the daily said.

The last message that he sent from Lumbini said that he had reached his destination.