NEW DELHI A senior Pakistani diplomat in the Indian capital died of an electric shock in his residency while using a hairdryer in the bathroom, a colleague said Monday.

M. Khan Afridi, political counsellor at Pakistans High Commission (embassy) in New Delhi, collapsed after taking a shower on Sunday evening, a Pakistani diplomat told AFP.

'It was probably caused by an electric short circuit,' the Pakistani diplomat said, asking not to be named.

The 47-year-old was rushed to a hospital in New Delhi but was declared dead.

The body was taken to Pakistan late Sunday, the colleague added.