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| Tuesday, 12 October 2004 |
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Kidnappers of Chinese engineers demand release of two militants ISLAMABAD, Monday (AFP) Kidnappers of two Chinese engineers have demanded the release of two militants held by Pakistani security forces, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said. He said both the kidnappers and the two engineers were with the Jalalkhel tribe in a rugged area in the South Waziristan region near the border with Afghanistan, state television quoted him as saying. Negotiations are continuing to seek their release, the minister said. He said elders of the region's main Mahsud tribe were negotiating with the Jalalkhel tribe and "it is expected that the hostages would be released soon." "The kidnappers have demanded the release of two people in Pakistan custody," he said, without giving details. The government is taking stock of the situation and "a decision will be taken in accordance with the law," he said. Earlier a security official said militants holding the two Chinese engineers have threatened to kill them unless Pakistan releases Al-Qaeda detainees. "There is only one demand. They have asked for the release of all arrested foreign militants," the intelligence official, based in the northwest city of Peshawar, told AFP on condition of anonymity. "They have given one day to the government to consider their demand, otherwise they said they will kill the hostages." The engineers were kidnapped Saturday as they travelled to the Gomalzam dam project in South Waziristan, the remotest and most dangerous of Pakistan's northwest tribal districts. The dam lies around 75 kilometers (45 miles) from the mountainous Afghan frontier. |
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