GHAZNI, Afghanistan, 7 August 2007 — The Taleban will keep kidnapping foreigners in Afghanistan, a purported spokesman for the group said yesterday, as the Afghan and US presidents ruled out making any concessions to secure the release of 21 South Koreans. Two of the hostages seized nearly three weeks ago are said to be extremely sick, and an Afghan doctor who heads a private clinic said he had dropped off almost $2,000 worth of antibiotics, vitamins and first aid kits in rural Ghazni province Sunday intended for the captives.
Dr. Mohammad Hashim Wahwaj said the Taleban told him that they had picked up the medicine. Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taleban, said the lives of the 21 hostages rest in the hands of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President George W. Bush, who are meeting at Camp David, in the US state of Maryland.
“Karzai and Bush will have responsibility for whatever happens to the hostages,” Ahmadi said. The Taleban have demanded that 23 militant prisoners being held by Afghanistan and at the US base at Bagram be freed in return for the Koreans, but the Afghan government has all but ruled that option out.
The subject was discussed during the Camp David summit, and the two leaders agreed that “there should be no quid pro quo” that could embolden the Taleban, said Gordon Johndroe, a Bush spokesman.
A South Korean presidential spokesman had cautioned against expecting too much from the summit. “It is our government’s standpoint that we should work separately from the summit to resolve the hostage issue. It is inappropriate to have any premature expectations or to overly interpret the summit,” Cheon Ho-sun said in Seoul.
“We will not do anything that will encourage hostage-taking, that will encourage terrorism. But we will do everything else to have them released,” Karzai told CNN on Sunday.
