Sources have told the BBC that the ambassador, Tariq Azizuddin, was kidnapped in the Khyber tribal agency close to the Afghan border.

The Pakistani embassy in Kabul says contact was lost with Mr Azizuddin at around 1045 local time (0645 GMT).

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Security officials told the Reuters news agency that the envoy was due to have changed cars at the border, but is not believed to have reached the frontier.

Correspondents say that four Pakistani Red Cross workers went missing in the same area a few days ago.

Pakistani foreign office Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said that Mr Azizuddin was going to Kabul from Peshawar by road when he disappeared.

"We are looking into the matter and at this stage we cannot deny or confirm the kidnapping of the ambassador," he said.

Correspondents say the disappearanbce highlights continuing instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan - a key ally in the US-led "war on terror" - with important parliamentary polls just one week away.

(BBC)

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