Pak national goes missing in Nepal

A retired Pakistan military officer, who had gone to seek employment in Nepal, has reportedly gone missing, sources have said.Muhammad Habib Zahir, a resident of Faisalabad, had retired as lieutenant colonel from the Pakistan army. Afterwards, he had applied online for a position at a United Nations office in Nepal.Zahir reportedly received a call from a man named Mark Thompson from Britain, who offered him a senior position with a salary of £3,000 and other fringe benefits.He readily accepted and arrived in Nepal on April 6 for an interview where he was received by a Pakistani national named Javed Ansari, the ARY reported.Zahir went missing from the town of Lumbini, which is just 5km from the border with India. He had last contacted his wife after arrival.The website through which he applied for the job and its Twitter account has now been deactivated. It is reported that the website and the call he received was being operated from India.A complaint has been filed over the missing army officer. The authorities were in contact with Nepal over the disappearance of Zahir.Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria also confirmed the incident, saying the matter has been raised with the Nepalese government and the Pakistani embassy was in contact with the local authorities.ew Year celebrationParticipants control their bulls during a traditional cart race to mark the Sri Lanka National New Year in Kaduwela near Colombo yesterday. The new year which is common to both majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils dawned on April 14, but celebrations can go on for weeks.