Fears mounted yesterday for the safety of two French aid workers kidnapped by the Taliban militia in southern Afghanistan after the insurgents beheaded an abducted Afghan journalist.
The Taliban said it executed Afghan reporter Ajmal Naqshbandi, who was kidnapped last month with Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, because the government failed to meet their demand to free rebel prisoners.
La Repubblica correspondent Mastrogiacomo was freed after two weeks in captivity in a controversial exchange for five Taliban prisoners which was widely condemned. His Afghan driver was beheaded before his release.
A senior government official speaking on condition of anonymity said he believed the Taliban killed Naqshbandi to pressure President Hamid Karzai into making another similar deal to free the French nationals.
"If you remember when the Taliban killed Mastrogiacomo's driver the government freed Taliban prisoners to save the Italian. I believe they killed Naqshbandi to scare us into accepting their demands again," he said.
"But I don't think that the government is in a position to comply with more such demands. It just can't do it," he said.
The Taliban say they have been holding a French man and woman along with three Afghans since abducting them in the southwestern province of Nimroz last Tuesday. The guerrillas have not yet made any demand for their release.
But a Taliban spokesman said on Sunday that the Taliban leaders will decide the fate of the French aid workers from Terre d'Enfance (A World for Our Children) in "coming days" as they are now done with Naqshbandi.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai had described the prisoner exchange to free Mastrogiacomo as an "extraordinary" situation and said he would not release any more Taliban prisoners to save the Italian's Afghan colleague.
The execution sparked calls yesterday in Afghan dailies for the government to execute Taliban prisoners.
"Martyring Ajmal Naqshbandi and their other crimes happen as the government shows extreme leniency towards the Taliban prisoners," Arman-e-Millie daily said in an editorial.
"There has been no implementation of punishment for any criminal and killer Taliban who has been sentenced to heavy punishment by the judicial authorities," it said. "From now on, criminal Taliban should be executed."
Another daily, Cheragh, criticized the government for failing to free Naqshbandi but going ahead with a deal to secure Mastrogiacomo's freedom and save Italy's fragile government from embarrassment.
"Mr. Karzai, no doubt, you managed to save the Italian government from falling. But with regret, you could not save the life of an Afghan and someone who had voted for you," it said.
A group representing Afghan journalists said the execution has sparked fear among local reporters of covering areas where the Taliban are active.
Some Afghan journalists vowed to leave out Taliban comments or statements from publications.
RSS