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| Korean female hostage declined offer of release! |
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Wednesday, August 15, 2007
By Rahimullah Yusufzai
PESHAWAR: One of the two Korean female hostages who were to be freed by Taliban Monday volunteered to remain in captivity and instead asked for the release of another woman hostage.
This was disclosed Tuesday by Taliban military commander Abdullah who is holding the remaining 19 Korean hostages. “We had selected two ladies for release depending on their health condition. But one of them said she was feeling better and will like to stay back,” he recalled. “After consulting the other hostages, she told Taliban that she wanted another lady to be released. We agreed to her request,” he said.
However, commander Abdullah didn’t remember the name of the brave Korean hostage who opted to remain in Taliban captivity. “These Korean names are so difficult. I will try to find her correct name. Or Korean media should ask the freed hostages about this episode as they know what happened,” he remarked.
The Korean media was frantically trying to find the name of the Korean woman who sacrificed her freedom for the sake of a fellow hostage. She would surely become a respected household name in South Korea once she is identified.
Meanwhile, Abdullah said he and his fighters were under control of the Taliban Rehbari Shura, or Taliban Leadership Council, led by Mulla Mohammad Omar and would obey its orders with regard to the fate of the Koreans.
Speaking from an undisclosed location in Ghazni province, he said there was no truth in reports that Taliban leadership was angry with him and his men and was sending a delegation to Ghazni to take matters into its own hands. “This is a baseless report. There are no differences among Taliban. If the Taliban Rehbari Shura of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan orders me today to release the Korean hostages unconditionally I will implement it without even waiting for a minute,” he stressed.
He maintained that only one group of Taliban fighters was holding the Koreans and not three as is being alleged. He said Taliban were speaking with one voice whether it was him or the Taliban Rehbari Shura or spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi from the day the Koreans were abducted. “We have been demanding release of Taliban prisoners and withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan. We have made no other demand,” he insisted.
Commander Abdullah, who organized the abduction of the 23 Korean evangelists from the Lewaney Bazaar area in Ghazni’s Qarabagh district on July 19 and later killed two male hostages, also refuted reports that Taliban demanded arms and money from the Korean officials during their talks face-to-face and on telephone. “It is all part of propaganda by the Afghan government. We challenge it to present evidence that we have asked for arms or ransom money. In any case, I don’t think South Korea has in its possession a large quantity of weapons that could be given to Taliban,” he argued.
When asked as to when the next round of talks would be held, Abdullah said the two sides spoke again Tuesday by telephone. He said talks were continuing though no face-to-face meeting was planned. “The first two rounds of face-to-face talks were held after much preparation and following contacts via telephone. So whenever there is a need the Taliban and Korean negotiators could meet face-to-face again to finalize things,” he explained.
Commander Abdullah said Taliban weren’t planning release of another Korean hostage for the time being. “But we don’t rule out such a possibility. Still we are going to insist that Taliban prisoners be freed in exchange for the remaining 19 Korean hostages,” he said.
Regarding health condition of the remaining hostages, he said they were now much better following visits by Afghan doctors and after getting medicines. “We are doing our best to look after the needs of the Koreans. We try to provide them good food, medicines and any other thing that they require,” he added.
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CJ says good governance being compromised
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PAC settles drought money misuse
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NA-55 by-polls
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Point scoring be avoided in Rashid attack case: Shahbaz
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Army called in for today’s Lakki by-election
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Rashid accuses PML-N of promoting criminal culture
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Briefs...
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ISSN 1563-9479 
