Khalil Dale: tributes to Red Cross worker murdered in Pakistan

[Major Shaitan Singh]

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Khalil Dale, the British aid worker murdered by the Taliban in Pakistan. Photograph: British Red Cross/PA



Tributes have been paid to a British aid worker whose body was found dumped in an orchard in Pakistan.

Khalil Dale was abducted at gunpoint in January while working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Baluchistan province. His kidnappers left a note on his body saying he had been killed because they had not received a ransom.

The 60-year-old Scot from Dumfries had been awarded the MBE for his humanitarian work overseas. Dale, who changed his name from Ken when he became a Muslim, was engaged to be married and had been living in Pakistan for nearly a year.

Dale had worked for the ICRC and the British Red Cross for many years, the charity said. He had previously been posted in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The British Red Cross chief executive, Sir Nick Young, said: "Khalil Dale has been a committed member of the Red Cross Red Crescent family for the last 30 years. He was a gentle, kind person who devoted his life to helping others, including some of the world's most vulnerable people.

"We condemn his abduction and murder in the strongest possible terms. It not only robs him of his life, and his family and co-workers of their loved one and friend - it robs the people he was helping of the expert care they need.

"Care workers like Khalil, and his colleagues in dangerous places all over the world, should be allowed to work free from threats of abduction and violence.

"Khalil first worked overseas for the Red Cross in 1981 in Kenya, distributing food and improving the health of people affected by severe drought. He also worked in Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, before his posting to Pakistan with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"In other words he did not shy away from the tough assignments, in the name of improving the lives of others. He was a brave man who had the utmost respect of his colleagues in the Red Cross and in the humanitarian world generally."

Friend and former colleague Sheila Howat worked with Dale at Dumfries Infirmary, where he was a staff nurse, and had known him for 25 years. "It's unbelievable what they've done to Ken. It's soul destroying," she said. "For someone who has given their life, devoted their life, to caring for others – it's just so wrong.

"Ken was an absolutely lovely person who saw good in everybody. He wanted to make the world a better place for people who had nothing. This is why he went to all the war-torn countries to try to make things better, particularly for the children.

"He knew the risks. He was quite aware of them."

Howat said Dale's fiancee, Anne, also a nurse, lived in Australia. "I was so happy that he had finally found happiness. I think their engagement happened quite recently."

Dale had shared a home with his mother in Dumfries until her death in 2007. His brother lives in New Zealand.

He was travelling home from a local school, in a clearly marked ICRC vehicle, when kidnappers bundled him into a car in the city of Quetta on 5 January.

The identities of his captors are unknown, but the region is home to separatist and Islamist militants who have kidnapped for ransom before.

The prime minister, David Cameron, said: "I was deeply saddened to hear about the brutal murder of Khalil Dale – a man who was killed whilst providing humanitarian support to others.

"This was a shocking and merciless act, carried out by people with no respect for human life and the rule of law.

"Khalil Dale has dedicated many years of his life to helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world and my thoughts today are with his friends and family."

The foreign secretary, William Hague, said he learned of the death "with great sadness", adding that "tireless efforts" had been made over the past months to secure Dale's release. "I utterly condemn the kidnapping and killing of Mr Dale, and send my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones as they come to terms with their tragic and distressing loss.

"This was a senseless and cruel act, targeting someone whose role was to help the people of Pakistan, and causing immeasurable pain to those who knew Mr Dale.

"My thoughts are with them, and with all those who have dedicated their lives to assisting the world's most vulnerable people through the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement."

Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, said: "The Scottish government utterly condemns the brutal murder of Khalil Dale, a man who devoted his life to helping others.

"Mr Dale was a nurse and highly experienced aid worker who had saved many lives in his long service with the International Committee of the Red Cross. He was a brave, skilled and compassionate professional who will be deeply missed.

"He had many friends around the world and regularly travelled back to Dumfries where he was well known and loved.

"My sincere condolences go to his family and friends, and in particular his fiancee Anne and his brother Ian at this very sad time."

[mjnaushad]

May he rest in peace.....

[Roybot]

RIP. Although he didn't look like Yemeni

[darkinsky]

the innocents who die every day in pakistan, you dont care and call them terrorists, but the dubious murder of a red cross guy who can be suspected of dubious activities is being paid a tribute

[Haseebullah]

Khalil Dale, the British aid worker murdered by the Taliban in Pakistan. Photograph: British Red Cross/PA

can you please post the link as per forum policy.
And secondly how did you declare them to Taliban for all we know it is more probable he was nabbed by BLA!

[Icarus]

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Respect to the doctor, rest in peace!

Pak has become the backyard of nefarious elements

That's because the courtyard is Afghanistan, free lodging for terrorists from across the world.