Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan freed

[fatman17]

http://www.thenational.ae

Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan freed

Last Updated: May 17. 2008 11:26AM UAE / May 17. 2008 7:26AM GMT
Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin appeared in a video tape on Al Arabiya television surrounded by armed militants in April. AFP
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan // The brother of Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan says the envoy has been released three months after he was kidnapped near the border that separates the two countries.

Tariq Azizuddin disappeared on February 11 along with his driver and bodyguard as they drove from the Pakistani city of Peshawar toward the Afghan border.

On a video that was aired on April 19 on an Arab satellite channel, Mr Azizuddin said Taliban militants had kidnapped them. His brother Tahir Azizuddin said today that authorities have told the family the ambassador has been released, is in good health and would likely reach home soon.

He added that he had no details of how or when authorities secured the envoy’s freedom.

 

[maqsad]

Finally freed. I was reading all sorts of speculation about this kidnapping with many people predicting he would be featured in a beheading video. I guess this is proof that negotiations can work.

He added that he had no details of how or when authorities secured the envoy’s freedom.

Too bad we don't know why or how he was released but at least this will give a lot of confidence to Pakistani diplomats in the ability of the pak govt to secure their welfare in all circumstances.

 

[Cheetah786]

maqsad;158268]Finally freed. I was reading all sorts of speculation about this kidnapping with many people predicting he would be featured in a beheading video. I guess this is proof that negotiations can work.

No actually this proof that the Government in Pakistan is being runned By Idiots They have given the reason to Terrorist to continue what they want and will be rewarded for There Actions.

Funniest thing that i don't understand why was this Man traveling by road to the most dangerous place on this earth knowing very well he will be snapped if spotted (or Thats what he wanted to help out his mates.)

 

[maqsad]

No actually this proof that the Government in Pakistan is being runned By Idiots They have given the reason to Terrorist to continue what they want and will be rewarded for There Actions.

Funniest thing that i don't understand why was this Man traveling by road to the most dangerous place on this earth knowing very well he will be snapped if spotted (or Thats what he wanted to help out his mates.)

They got the ambassador released without any kind of an exchange. You call that idiotic? No militants were released by Pakistan. This is what CBS is reporting,

Kidnapped Pakistani Ambassador Freed, Diplomat Released 3 Months After Abduction In Afghan Border Area - CBS News

However, senior Pakistani official Rehman Malik said the envoy was freed Friday through a "law enforcement action" and the government had made no concessions in return.

......

Azizuddin told reporters that his captors twice hit him on the head with a rifle after abducting him and forced him to read the videotaped statement at gunpoint. He identified the men only as Pakistani "mujahedeen," or holy warriors.

He said his release was the result of a "chain of actions set about on the order" of the government, but declined to elaborate.

......


Malik, the head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, said there had been "no deal" for Azizuddin's release. "There is no exchange of terrorists," he said.

So there is no reward that I can think of, given to the terrorists.

Funniest thing that i don't understand why was this Man traveling by road to the most dangerous place on this earth knowing very well he will be snapped if spotted (or Thats what he wanted to help out his mates.)

If you come across any other explanation be sure to let everyone know.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Maqsad,

I have a hard time believing this isn't related to the prisoner exchanges going on currently between the Taliban and the GoP - in which case, whether or not there was a direct exchange specifically over him is moot. The fact is that the Taliban got what they wanted in order to release him.

Now lets hope the government had the sense to include in the negotiations conditions that also stop the Taliban from blowing up businesses and schools, and don't forcefully try and spread their Mullahism into the rest of Pakistan.

 

[Cheetah786]

maqsad;158328]They got the ambassador released without any kind of an exchange. You call that idiotic? No militants were released by Pakistan. This is what CBS is reporting,

Negotiating with people that are involved in the killing of pakistani people and army personal is IDIOTIC.But iam sure they will put out a press release about the people they freed to you as soon as possible.

So there is no reward that I can think of, given to the terrorists.

care to explain why all of sudden terrorist had a change of heart and they let him go if they didn't get any thing out of it.why hold him for 3 months just to free him out of goodness of there hearts

If you come across any other explanation be sure to let everyone know

As soon as you can share with every one why was he travelling the Road well known to be infested with Terrorist.

The government has withdrawn security personnel from three strategic positions in the Mehsud area, meeting a key demand of the militants in South Waziristan for a peace agreement in the region.

Local people said the army removed barbed wires and mines before pulling out of Chag Malai, Spinkay Raghzay and Kotkai areas.

But a government official said the military was being relocated to positions from where it would be easy for them to re-occupy the vacated positions within four hours of any incident.

The troop withdrawal was a key commitment made by the government for reaching peace agreement with militants and came after the two sides had exchanged prisoners over the past three days.

 

[maqsad]

Maqsad,

I have a hard time believing this isn't related to the prisoner exchanges going on currently between the Taliban and the GoP - in which case, whether or not there was a direct exchange specifically over him is moot. The fact is that the Taliban got what they wanted in order to release him.

Now lets hope the government had the sense to include in the negotiations conditions that also stop the Taliban from blowing up businesses and schools, and don't forcefully try and spread their Mullahism into the rest of Pakistan.

AM you are probably right about backroom deals but it is not fair to blame the current govt for rampant mullahism since it was General Zia who happily spread this lunacy even in the ranks of his own military. Musharaff was not able to undo much damage during his tenure either, his "enlightened moderation" didn't really work and he failed to clean up the mess his predecessors created.

 

[maqsad]

Negotiating with people that are involved in the killing of pakistani people and army personal is IDIOTIC.But iam sure they will put out a press release about the people they freed to you as soon as possible.

Point taken but you have to remember that the pakistani police and military are supposed to be able to control every single square inch of pakistani territory by using technical and human assets at their disposal. It's called knowing your back yard like the back of your hand. When the military/police fail to control large segments of the population that is when diplomacy starts. You are blaming everything on civilians, including the cause of the entire problem! That is ridiculous.


And negotiating with those people is not something the parties like to do or want to do but it is necessary because those people are just fed up with their lot and blame pakistan for it. Do you think these people would dare to kidnap ambassadors if they knew that the military was capable of hunting them down and killing them off and still manage to rescue the ambassador? Nope...they grabbed the guy because they don't fear the military. Like I said before the military is supposed to be able to control every square inch in pakistan. It is supposed to rule. HUMINT and SIGINT assetts combined are supposed to be able to lead to the ambassador but this did not occur. The fault is security. Who is in charge of his security? It's not civies! You are blaming the victim here because of the lack of professionalism of the military/police.

If Bush ever got kidnapped on one of his vacations do you think the Secret Service would blame anyone or just accept the blame themselves?

care to explain why all of sudden terrorist had a change of heart and they let him go if they didn't get any thing out of it.why hold him for 3 months just to free him out of goodness of there hearts

I don't really know. It is quite possible that in those three months some competent people in ISI/army etc traced the ambassador and found out who picked him up and then arrested dozens of their affilliates. But yes it is also possible an unofficial trade occured.

As soon as you can share with every one why was he travelling the Road well known to be infested with Terrorist.

Why don't you tell me why he did not have a military escort? Whose job is the security of govt officials...department of education or the military? Or is he supposed to hire chaprasis for himself?

Yes of course the guy was careless but ambassadors are civies and are not generally even trained in security are they? Once again why doesnt he have a half dozen SSGs escorting him 24/7 even in Kabul? It's not like there is a shortage of manpower. And we all know the dangers there.

 

[maqsad]

The ambassador was released possibly because the govt put tremendous pressure on the JandaKhel tribe. In fact there may have been dozens of tribesmen kidnapped and tortured by authorities.

In my mind, it also occured to me that the truth may be a bit stranger than fiction. The official statement is that the ambassador was released due to a law enforcement campaign, very ambiguous. It's quite possible that what really happened was that the new civilian govt decided to get tough, really tough and ordered operations against people in the khyber area. Then after a week or two the message got out that the new govt was angry, very angry and was going take no prisonors.

The message would have gotten to the kidnappers who negotiated a deal where the govt calmed down in return for releasing the guy.

So in other words the pak govt may have been so rough and tough on the JandaKhels that they were just forced to give up the ambassador to save their own lives and stop the harassment of their tribal members.

Officials claim finding clue to missing envoy



By Ibrahim Shinwari​

LANDI KOTAL, Feb 14: As search continued for Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin who went missing in Khyber Agency on Monday, the political administration launched a crackdown on the agency’s Jandakhel tribe.

Officials, meanwhile, said the administration had found a clue that could lead to the recovery of the diplomat, his driver and a security guard.

An official said 11 people of the tribe had been arrested and five vehicles impounded under the territorial responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. He said the men had gone missing in the area of the tribe.

NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani told journalists in Peshawar that the scope of the search operation had been extended to the entire area and several teams had been constituted.

He said there were speculations that the kidnappers might have shifted the ambassador to Orakzai Agency.

Officials in Khyber Agency said the diplomat was possibly still their area although they had claimed that his vehicle was last seen in Orakzai Agency.

“The Jandakhel tribe has been targeted because some of its elders disappeared after the abduction of Ambassador Azizuddin,” an official said. “This aroused suspicion about their possible involvement in the kidnapping.”

Jandakhel tribesmen blocked the Peshawar-Torkham highway for about one hour in protest against the arrests.

Officials claim finding clue to missing envoy -DAWN - Top Stories; February 15, 2008

 

[Cheetah786]

Afghan security forces have rescued two foreign contractors who were kidnapped near the western city of Herat almost a month ago, officials have said.

The intelligence chief in Herat, Habib Habib, said his agents had raided a cave where the men were being held and arrested the leader of the kidnap gang.

The Indian and Nepalese men, who worked for a US security company, are well.

Pakistan's ambassador has meanwhile returned home after being freed by the militants who abducted him in February.

Tariq Azizuddin said he had been released in the Pakistani tribal area of north Waziristan on Friday, but was vague about the identity of his kidnappers.

In April he appeared in a video on al-Arabiya TV, in which he said that had been taken by "mujahideen from the Taleban". But speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Saturday, he identified them only as "Pakistani mujahideen".

Mr Azizuddin disappeared on 11 February along with his driver and bodyguard while travelling by car from Pakistan to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

He said his release had been the result of a "chain of actions set about on the order" of the Pakistani prime minister and his government, but declined to elaborate.

But the adviser of Pakistan's interior ministry, Rehman Malik, said there had been no deal or "exchange of terrorists", merely a "law enforcement action".

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says informed observers suspect Mr Azizuddin was released as part of a prisoner swap between the authorities and local pro-Taleban militants, who are engaged in peace talks.

 

[alibaz]

Nice to hear that he is back

 

[maqsad]

Ok see? People are accusing the new govt of being pushovers and softies and in reality they ordered the military and special ops to handle this kidnapping the right way. The ambassador was released as a result of a tough policy. The new govt is using a "carrot and stick" policy where they reward cooperation and peace with carrots and punish what they don't like with sticks. So people need to take a less simplistic approach to understanding this situation.

Govt claims credit for envoy’s release



By Syed Irfan Raza​

ISLAMABAD, May 17: Authorities have claimed that the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul was freed as a result of an ‘action’ taken by security forces in South Waziristan.

The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior, Rehman Malik, claimed on Saturday that Tariq Azizuddin was freed as a result of a crackdown by security forces in South Waziristan four weeks ago, but not under any deal with the militants. However, he refused to give details of the operation.

“We will provide details to media later,” he said while taking to newsmen at the residence of the freed envoy.

Touching scenes were seen when the envoy was reunited with his family after 97 days of captivity. Many of his relatives reached his residence to greet him.

His driver and security guard were also freed and sent to their homes. They were not seen with the envoy when Mr Azizuddin reached his residence.

In reply to a question, the envoy said he had been freed due to an action by security forces. He, however, said he had not heard any sound of firing and fighting before his release.

Mr Malik claimed that security forces had got cleared the main road in South Waziristan in an operation four weeks ago and tightened the noose around the militants, forcing them to free the kidnapped envoy.

The adviser claimed that the government had not released any arrested militant or militant leader to secure the release of Mr Azizuddin.

Dwelling on his days of captivity, the envoy said he had been given proper food and bed by militants and was not tortured.

“They only hit my head with guns when they kidnapped me but later they did not harm me,” he said.

Mr Azizuddin said that he had repeated word for word what he had been ordered to say by militants in a video clip shown by a private TV channel last month.


Govt claims credit for envoy’s release -DAWN - Top Stories; May 18, 2008