A video showing Azizuddin, asking the Pakistan government to meet the demands of his abductors, including the release of some Taliban cadres, was aired by the Al Arabiya TV channel on Saturday. The militants holding Azizuddin, his driver and bodyguard had demanded the release of Taliban leader Mullah Obaidullah Akhund. They have also demanded the release of five or six other Pakistani and Afghan militants held by Pakistani authorities.
The release of Pakistan's envoy to Afghanistan was part of a deal between the government and the local Taliban, under which they will swap about 330 prisoners after signing a formal peace agreement in the restive northwest tribal areas. The Taliban wanted 250 militants, currently in the government's custody, to be swapped with 80 soldiers and government officials, who had been taken hostage by the rebels. Azizuddin was handed over by militants to authorities at Razmak.
Pakistan's envoy to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, who was kidnapped by militants three months ago, has been freed after secret parleys between the government and local Taliban leaders.
Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, who went missing in February, on Saturday appeared in a video beamed by an Arabic TV channel and said he was being held by the Taliban. The footage aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya channel showed Azizuddin, his driver Gul Nawaz and guard Amir Sultan surrounded by armed militants.
Azizuddin went missing on Monday with his driver and a guard, while driving from North West Frontier Province capital Peshawar to Kabul. He is believed to have been kidnapped by militants in the Khyber Agency.
Pakistani security forces on Thursday launched a crackdown against tribesmen, arresting nine of them in the Khyber Agency, after they failed to trace the country's ambassador to Afghanistan, who is believed to have been kidnapped in the region on Monday.The authorities defended the action, saying the tribesmen were taken into custody under the collective responsibility law as the ambassador had gone missing from a main road in their area.
Lashkar-e-Islami chief Mangal Bagh, who wields considerable influence in the Khyber Agency, said Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin is not in the tribal region and it would be unjust for the government to conduct any sort of military operation in the agency to locate him. The radical leader also told Dawn News channel that Azizuddin had not been kidnapped from the Agency, contrary to media reports.
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