GHAZNI, Afghanistan, 13 August 2007 — Two ailing South Korean hostages held by the Taleban are to be freed this morning, the governor of the Afghan province where they were abducted said yesterday.
“The Taleban are releasing two sick female hostages as a gesture of good faith. They’ll be here by tomorrow morning in Ghazni (city),” Gov. Merajuddin Pattan said. “The Taleban promised to release two of the hostages, but they did not mention what time.”
Earlier, a spokesman for the rebel group said the women would be freed soon.
The same spokesman had said late Saturday the two women had already been freed and would arrive in the city of Ghazni, close to where they and 21 other Korean church volunteers were abducted by the insurgents more than three weeks ago.
“The Taleban leadership council has decided to release the two female hostages within several hours,” Qari Mohammad Yousef told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location yesterday. “They are sick, and we are hopeful that releasing them will positively reflect on releasing our prisoners.”
The Taleban have killed two male hostages and threatened to kill the remaining 21, 18 of them women, unless a similar number of Taleban prisoners are freed in exchange.
The Afghan government has refused to give in to the demand, saying that would just encourage more kidnapping.
Yousef has made conflicting statements in the past, blaming problems of communicating with fighters in the field. This time he blamed the media for the confusion. “It is confusing in the media reports. I said that our council decided to release them, I did not say they are released,” he said.
The South Korean government declined to comment. “We have no comment on the reports. But we are maintaining a direct contact with (the) Taleban,” a South Korean government official, who asked not to be identified, said.
The government will confirm reports and make comments when it secures the hostages, he said.
South Korean diplomats were to have held a third day of face-to-face talks with Taleban negotiators yesterday to try to free the prisoners, but Pattan said the meeting did not take place.
Authorities barred journalists from the talks’ venue, the local headquarters of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, and warned them against attempting to do any interviews or take any photographs in the town.
