KABUL, 27 May 2005 — Afghanistan hit back at Italy yesterday for meddling in negotiations to free an aid worker kidnapped ten days ago, escalating a war of words between Rome and Kabul.
Clementina Cantoni, who works for CARE International, was dragged from her car in Kabul by armed gunmen in an incident which has prompted foreigners to tighten security measures.
“The Italian Embassy, without informing us, has set up some contacts with the alleged kidnappers. We believe these kind of contacts are not helpful for the negotiations and the safe release of Clementina,” Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told AFP.
“We were suggesting that the contacts should be made from one channel, from the Afghan side only,” Mashal said.
Italian officials including the head of the secret service accused Afghanistan of delaying the release of Cantoni, 32, as a result of infighting between competing government departments, the Italian press reported Wednesday.
Mashal said that his ministry had formed a taskforce to collect and share all information with the international community.
“A taskforce has been established at the Ministry of Interior in which ISAF (NATO-led peacekeepers), coalition forces, the Italian Embassy, other Afghan security agencies, United Nations and CARE International are represented,” he said.
Mashal said talks between Afghan authorities and the hostage-takers were ongoing but gave no further details.
“There are some issues regarding these contacts that we cannot reveal right now. Some contacts have been made — the details of which could not be released at the moment,” he added.
Cantoni had been in Afghanistan for three years and ran a program providing food and employment for Afghan widows, who often struggle to find work and feed their children.
