By Graham Brown

THE SHOCKING murder of an international Salvation Army officer in Pakistan has reverberated to Angus where the Norwegian national was a highly respected figure.

Colonel Bo Brekke, who led the organisation’s international work in the Asian country, was gunned down in Lahore on Thursday in an act which has sent shockwaves through the humanitarian corps.

International reports have said a man has been arrested and charged with Colonel Brekke’s murder.

They indicate the matter is being treated by civil authorities in Pakistan’s second largest city as an internal conspiracy murder and a Salvation Army Major has been named as the suspect following a dispute over what is understood to be a property matter.

News of the tragedy was met with sorrow and disbelief in Angus yesterday, where Col Brekke and his Danish-born wife, Birgitte spent time a few years ago.

Col Brekke formerly led the Salvation Army’s north Scotland division in a career which had also seen him work in projects across the world, and his approach to the role left a lasting impression on senior figures in the county.

“He was a man of vision and a very hard worker,” said Forfar Salvation Army Major Jim McCluskey yesterday.

“Bo brought an international perspective to the Salvation Army in this part of the world and he will certainly be a loss to the Salvation Army as well as to the many people who he made a positive impression on.

“He was very interested in what was going on here in Angus when he visited the area and reinforced to us the value of working in the community, with and for people.

“He was quite a distinctive gentleman and through his appearance and actions made quite an impression on the people who he loved working for and amongst.

“He was very much a roll up your sleeves type of person and was not happy sitting in an office, except for the fact that the senior position he had gained allowed him to put into practice many of the things that he thought were important.”