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Journalism of Courage
A Pakistani tribal leader linked to the Al Qaeda agreed to negotiate over the fate of two Chinese hostages today after allowing a deadline for a threatened execution to pass.
Abdullah Mahsud, who is holding the two Chinese engineers in a wild tribal region of Pakistan near the Afghan border, said he had ignored his own 4.30 ist deadline to kill one of the hostages because negotiations were under way.
‘‘The deadline has finished, but as the negotiations have started we are waiting a response from the government,’’ Mahsud told reporters. ‘‘The ball is now in the government’s court, my fighters are ready and can kill the hostages any time.’’
Interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the hostage-takers had strapped explosives to themselves and the engineers, who were abducted to press Pakistan to release two detained militants. Mahsud then threatened to kill one of the hostages unless his group were allowed to flee their base, which is surrounded by government security forces backed by members of the Jalakhel tribe, along with their captives.
Chief negotiator Maulana Merajuddin, a local MP and religious leader said he saw the Chinese hostages alive at 5:30 PM IST, an hour after the deadline set by Mahsud. ‘‘I have told the abductors not to show haste as itwill have serious repercussions for the people of the area,’’ Merajuddin said. —PTI
