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UAE charge d’affaires in Iraq is withdrawn as Naji Rashid freed

The Wam said charge d’affaires Ali Al Kaabi returned home “after being recalled to report to Foreign Ministry officials about developments ... (regarding) the kidnapped UAE diplomat Naji Naji Rashid Al Nuaimi and study with them measures to ensure his safety”.

Kaabi’s recall was a main demand raised by the group that kidnapped Nuaimi in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Earlier, the UAE diplomat Naji Rashid Al Nuaimi, who was abducted in Iraq last Tuesday, was released yesterday, a family member told your favourite No. 1 newspaper Khaleej Times. His family members, father, uncle, brother-in-law, friends and residents of his city, Dibba Al Hisn, heaved a sigh of relief and reacted with joy and delight over the news of his release.

The 28-year old Naji, First Secretary at the UAE Embassy in Baghdad, was kidnapped by gunmen in the city’s Al Mansour district late on Tuesday, and his driver, a Sudanese, was shot while trying to prevent the assailant from abducting Nuaimi in the attack. He later succumbed to his wounds when taken to a hospital in serious condition. Naji’s family members were on tenterhooks, awaiting his release. He was finally set free by his captors at 6pm, following contacts and promises to release him.

After announcing his release on TV, the Dibba-based family members of Naji received the news on phone. It was a touching scene when all the family members and friends shed tears of joy and hugged each other immediately after listening to the good tidings. People thronged the residence of Naji, congratulating his father, who remarked: “Praise be to the Lord Almighty. I have not stopped praying to Allah to end our dilemma and help return our on to us,” the old man said. “Allah has responded to our prayers,” he said.

He paid rich tributes to the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for their noble feelings, which they had shown towards the family. “Their Highnesses Shaikh Khalifa and Shaikh Mohammed had expressed great concern over my son, with their tireless efforts to secure his release,” the happy father said. He said: “My son was kidnapped while he was discharging a humanitarian duty assigned to him by the UAE Government. Despite what had happened to him, I am very proud of my son for he had done the work tasked to him by the government, and now I am eagerly awaiting his homecoming,” he said, adding that “he might return tonight or tomorrow, God willing.”

Naji, his eldest son, was born in July 1978, and went to a school at Dibba Al Hisn, where the family now lives. He graduated from the UAE University with a BA in Shariah and Law. He worked at the Ministry of Interior till he was selected to work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Iraq, he said, was the first country he was serving in, since he joined the Foreign Ministry, where he spent a year and two months, including a month’s leave.

He was engaged last January. “I spoke to my brother the day he was kidnapped,” his brother Talal said. Talal said that Naji had asked him to book a wedding hall for his marriage, scheduled for September this year. “The strange thing was that I went to book the wedding hall as he had requested, and when I called him back to elicit his views on the rates, I was surprised to discover that his cell phone was switched off, which is not his habit. But when I returned home and switched on the TV, I heard in the news about a UAE diplomat’s kidnapping in Iraq, and learnt that it was my brother himself who was kidnapped.”

“It was a hard time indeed and life seemed dismal, but now, thanks to Allah, he has been released. Despite the information and the news we have received about his release, I will not be satisfied till I see him in front of me in blood and flesh,” Talal stated. When the news of Naji’s release spread, several residents of Dibba Al Hisn flocked to his house and congratulated his family members. Friends and relatives of the family supported the bereaved family during the time Naji was kidnapped. They had remained glued to the TV, waiting with hope to listen to the news about his release.

Naji’s uncle, Nasser Al Nuaimi said: “Praise be to Allah that Naji was released.” He appreciated the efforts made by government officials, saying, “I was sure Allah will not let us down.” He said: “I had learnt the news of his abduction at 2am on that particular day, and immediately went to his house and remained with the family, praying to God to end his ordeal. Allah responded to our prayers and Naji will return home.” He said his nephew is active and dynamic, with great ambitions in life. “Naji is educated, intelligent, and God-fearing. Therefore, Allah did not disappoint him. Allah stood with him in his plight, and I pray to God that our joy will be complete when he returns to us safely.”

His would-be brother-in-law, Ahmed Ali Jabber, said: “Praise be to Allah that he had solved his ordeal, as he was getting ready to to tie the knot in September.” Jabber praised his brother-in-law saying that he is “suave, polite, well-mannered, and highly educated, and I pray to Allah he will return home safely.”

Naji’s friend Mohammed Rashid Rashood said: “My friend is talented and gifted with multiple skills. He is, by all accounts, a versatile person. He is a fine artist, creative, has a charismatic leadership, and is loved by everyone. I will not forget his company on many occasions, and we called him the ‘Al Habeeb’ meaning the loved one.” Obaid Al Maghni, a family friend of Naji, echoed the words of other family members and friends. Dibba Al Hisn was in a festive mood and everyone was waiting for the return of their beloved Naji.

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