Pakistan’s army is mounting a massive search and rescue mission for a high-ranking diplomat believed to have been kidnapped by Taliban fighters in the country’s lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Tariq Azizuddin, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan since December 2005, was on his way to Kabul from Peshawar in north-west Pakistan when he disappeared along with his driver and bodyguard in the Khyber tribal region, before midday on Monday.