Taliban militants threatened yesterday to kill some of their 22 South Korean hostages if there was no progress by noon today on their demand for the release of eight jailed rebels.
Government-appointed negotiators insisted however that the Islamic extremists free the 16 women in the group of Christian aid workers captured on July 19 before they would consider the militants' demands.
Baek Jong-chun, a special envoy dispatched by Seoul, held talks yesterday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who assured Baek that his government would ``spare no effort'' to secure the hostages' release.
In his first comments on the crisis since the South Koreans were taken hostage on July 19, Karzai said yesterday that the kidnapping of "foreign guests" was shameful and that abducting women in particular was un-Islamic.
"This will have a shameful effect on the dignity of the Afghan people," Karzai said, according to a statement from the presidential palace released after his talks with the South Korean envoy.
The Taliban leadership had decided that if the Afghan and South Korean governments "don't pay attention to this issue by tomorrow 12 o'clock, the Taliban will kill some Korean hostages," militant spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said.
Four earlier deadlines set by the militants have elapsed without incident but the Taliban on Saturday expressed impatience, with 17 of the South Koreans said to be ill.
The Taliban shot dead the leader of group. a 42-year-old pastor, on Wednesday.
Ahmadi said yesterday that the Taliban was "trying to the maximum possible level to solve this issue via talks and that is why we have still kept alive the hostages for this long period."
The South Koreans had been divided into small groups and were being held in three different provinces, he said.
"Some of the hostages have some health problems due to weather or psychological pressure they feel," he said.
Afghan authorities said yesterday that they wanted the women to be released before considering any demands.
In "Islamic law and Afghan culture we cannot harm women and should not take women as hostages and prisoners," said Mahmood Gailani, a leading member of the negotiating team.
"After they free the women, we are ready to negotiate with them about the male hostages," said Mirajuddin Pattan, governor of Ghazni Province where the group was captured.
Gailani said the release of Taliban prisoners was not an option but others could be considered.
Asked if this may include paying a ransom, he said: "We are still exploring our options. We should hear ... what their demands are."
The government was widely criticized when it released five Taliban prisoners in March to free an Italian hostage and Karzai vowed afterwards such a deal would not be repeated.
Karzai's office said Baek had told the president his government would accept "any position" taken by Kabul in dealing with the crisis.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS