At about 8:00 AM local time on October 9, two Chinese engineers
and their security guard were kidnapped by five gunmen near Jandala
in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area, near the Afghanistan
border.
The two Chinese hostages, Wang Ende and Wang Peng, have been
working on a dam and a canal project in the area for the China
National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group
Corporation.
Pakistani troops have been searching for hundreds of
Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the mountainous region.
As the kidnappers were escaping in the direction of the Afghan
border, they were surrounded by approximately 30 security troops.
The Pakistani military sent six helicopters to join the rescue
efforts.
On Saturday evening, Malak Mirajuddin, a National Assembly
member from the tribal area, began to negotiate with the kidnappers
for the hostages' release on behalf of the Pakistani
authorities.
The kidnappers said that they would free the hostages in return
for a vehicle and guarantee of a safe escape. The security forces
refused to accept this condition.
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Zhang Yiming, a
spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, said that after four
hours of negotiation the two sides agreed at about 10:00 PM to
disengage overnight. A tribal chieftain was entrusted to guard the
three hostages and five kidnappers separately.
They also agreed that the security forces and police who had
encircled the kidnappers would retreat several hundred meters, said
Zhang.
The chieftain was to hold talks with Pakistani authorities on
Sunday morning to find a peaceful solution.
Zhang said that the kidnappers had been identified as Afghan
immigrants, but their motive in seizing the Chinese nationals
remained unclear.
Xinhua reports that in a telephone interview, Kan Janping, the
supervisor of the two engineers, said that the men are in good
condition.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told Xinhua that China is
deeply concerned for the safety of the two Chinese engineers.
The Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan
immediately contacted the Pakistani government concerning the case,
urging it to take steps to locate the engineers, ensure their
safety and spare no effort in rescuing them.
China also requested Pakistan to improve security to guarantee
the safety of Chinese personnel working on Pakistani projects, Kong
said.
In May this year, three Chinese engineers working on a deep-sea
port at Gwadar, about 500 kilometers west of Karachi, were killed
when an unoccupied car exploded near their bus. Nine others were
injured.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn October 10, 2004)