Election commission official kidnapped in Afghanistan

Kabul, Dec 15 (Xinhua) Unknown armed men Sunday abducted an election commission official in charge of voters' registration in Paktika province of eastern Afghanistan, his family and officials said Monday.

'Armed men sneaked into the house of Mawlawi Abdul Manan, the director of voter registration department, in Yusuf Khil district Sunday night and took him to an unknown location,' his brother Hajji Abdul Hanan told Xinhua.

Hanan did not blame any groups or individuals, but added negotiations are going on to ensure the safe release of the abducted official.

Registration of voters is going on in different provinces of Afghanistan in preparation of the presidential election next year.

Gul Mohammad, the district governor of Yusuf Khil, also confirmed the incident. He said that efforts were going on for the release of the victim.

Taliban militants, who asked Afghans to boycott election, have kidnapped and killed a number of election officials.