Efforts to secure the release of two Chinese engineers were
hampered once again on Wednesday as leaders of the abductors
refused to meet tribal elders of the jirga (traditional council)
for a second time.
Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed
the reports whilst correspondents in Wana, South Waziristan, say
that elders of the Mehsud tribe will again meet on Thursday, to be
attended by senior government officials.
Tribal elders have sought permission from the government for
'Lashkar Kashi' (armed tribal action) against the captors but say
they could not guarantee the safety of the hostages if it became
necessary.
Members of the negotiating committee met Asmatullah Khan
Gandapur, a political agent of South Waziristan, on Wednesday and
informed him of the kidnappers' demands, which include a halt to an
operation launched by the Pakistani army in March this year to
flush out foreign militants from the area.
The Mehsud tribe is under tremendous pressure from the
government to gain the hostages' immediate and unconditional
release and they fear a strong reaction if they fail to do so.
Meanwhile Pakistan's Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid,
condemned the kidnapping and expressed the federal cabinet's
solidarity with China. He reaffirmed Pakistan's resolve to secure
the release of the engineers and stressed that their safety was
their primary concern.
Wang Ende and Wang Peng were working for China National Water
Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group Corporation when they,
along with their Pakistani guard and driver, were abducted by five
gunmen near Jandala in Pakistan's South Waziristan on Saturday.
(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2004)