THANKS to the incompetence of our law enforcement agencies, it has not been possible to recover UN official John Solecki, who was kidnapped from Quetta on February 2009. Now the Baloch Liberation United Front has threatened to behead him in four days if its demands are not met. The outfit has demanded the release of the missing Baloch men and women in exchange for Solecki's release. As ill luck would have it, PM's Interior Adviser Rehman Malik, who should be doing his best to get him free like mobilising security paraphernalia for his recovery, happens to be in Iran to discuss matters of much less importance, something that a senior Foreign Ministry official should be assigned to do. High-profile kidnappings, incidents of attacks on foreigners, suicide bombings and insufferable insecurity have become quite common in the country. The incidence of lawlessness is high in NWFP and Balochistan where a number of groups are waging an insurgency against the government. And the pity is that the police appear to be helpless in cracking down on the groups involved in these acts. The murder of Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pearl, who was abducted from Karachi, in 2002 is etched on the minds of not only foreigners but also the Pakistani people. Recently, Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak was kidnapped and beheaded by miscreants. Worse still, the police have so far failed to recover the children abducted by unknown gunmen in Hangu. Little wonder the feeling of insecurity among the people is increasing by the hour. Given the image of the country as one of the most dangerous places on earth projected in large part because of the accusation that it is a nursery of militants and a threat to the life of foreigners, the kidnapping of Mr Solecki, who happens to be a US citizen, has proven to be another source of disgrace. The PM's Interior Adviser, rather than wasting his time on errands which do not fall in his purview, ought to gear up to secure his release and improve the security situation of the country in general.