Taliban says Polish hostage beheaded in Pakistan

[Flintlock]

Taliban says Polish hostage beheaded in Pakistan

5 hours ago

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — The Taliban said Saturday it had killed a Polish engineer kidnapped last year in Pakistan, but the Polish embassy in Islamabad was not able to confirm the claim.

Piotr Stanczak was seized on September 28 by armed men who killed his two drivers and bodyguard in restive northwest Pakistan, where he was working for a Polish energy company.

"We have beheaded the Polish engineer after the government failed to meet our demands and we will not hand over his body," a Taliban spokesman said by telephone.

The claim to have murdered Stanczak came just hours after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters that no ransom would be paid.

The kidnappers had demanded a large ransom and the release of six jailed militants in exchange for the engineer's release.

They had initially threatened to kill him on February 4, but later extended the deadline for two days.

The Polish embassy was aware of the claim that Stanczak had been murdered but had no proof, a spokesman said.

"I can confirm we have received information that Taliban are claiming they killed him. But we don't have proof of it. We don't have any official confirmation," said Piotr Adamkiewicz.

"We are working on it. His family is aware of the information."

Pakistani security officials said they were aware of the Taliban claim, but were also unable to confirm it.

Pakistan's northwest has been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels escaped the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
AFP: Taliban says Polish hostage beheaded in Pakistan

 

[ajpirzada]

its some unfortunate thing..... shouldnt have happened...
the only way of freein him was by freein talibans our army have caught + the ransom which they were demanding
same is the case with the chinease guy whom they have captured.....

 

[zhero]

maximus, lose the hate man....it'll get you nowhere!

 

[Destructlord]

These savage actions by Taliban, Unfortunately reflecting upon the true Islam.

 

[waraich66]

Afghan Talaban are not operating inside Pakistan,it may be action local few groups playing in the hand of RAW/MUSAD damaging image of Pakistan in international comunity.
There is no herb going on in pakistan ,we dont have information of any fatwa ,so this killing is not as per islam.

 

[Destructlord]

There is no herb going on in pakistan ,we dont have information of any fatwa ,so this killing is not as per islam.

Thats exactly why i said that! They want to hide the true Islams face by doing these things!

 

[A.Rahman]

These savage actions by Taliban, Unfortunately reflecting upon the true Islam.

Anyone with a beard and AK47 is not a taliban

There are lot of Criminal gangs which are called "taliban" in the news.

 

[asaad-ul-islam]

I'm just disgusted by hearing this... Pakistan has had long ties with Poland, we took in Polish refugees in Pakistan during WWII. The polish people have contributed to Pakistan, and this is how our people repay them! They guy was an engineer from Poland, he didn't have to be in this impoverished country, he could have been somewhere else. instead, he chose to work in Pakistan for its benefit. after hearing this, I feel like not wanting to have anything to do with Pakistani people.

 

[Jihad]

I'm just disgusted by hearing this... Pakistan has had long ties with Poland, we took in Polish refugees in Pakistan during WWII. The polish people have contributed to Pakistan, and this is how our people repay them! They guy was an engineer from Poland, he didn't have to be in this impoverished country, he could have been somewhere else. instead, he chose to work in Pakistan for its benefit. after hearing this, I feel like not wanting to have anything to do with Pakistani people.

No matter how much it hurts and sucks, you cannot blame or generalize all of Pakistan because of this act, most if not almost all Pakistanis are moderate and do not want anything to do with these types of criminals.

 

[Beskar]

I'm just disgusted by hearing this... Pakistan has had long ties with Poland, we took in Polish refugees in Pakistan during WWII. The polish people have contributed to Pakistan, and this is how our people repay them! They guy was an engineer from Poland, he didn't have to be in this impoverished country, he could have been somewhere else. instead, he chose to work in Pakistan for its benefit. after hearing this, I feel like not wanting to have anything to do with Pakistani people.

Our people? So you believe that the actions of the Taliban represent the entire nation? Seriously, choose your words a bit carefully.

And by the way, Did you even read the article?

The claim to have murdered Stanczak came just hours after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters that no ransom would be paid.

Seems more like the Polish PRIME MINSTER's fault than ours.

and "Could've been somewhere else"? I'm sorry, but he was probably being paid HANDSOMELY by his employer. That's exactly why the foreign workers come here. It's not because of their love for our country, but for the money.

Seriously, that was one messed up post.

 

[third eye]

"Seems more like the Polish PRIME MINSTER's fault than ours."

Does the above line imply that ransom ought to have been paid ? .. & that not paying was the fault ?

To kill a human for no fault of his is bad but to behead him shows a mean, savage & barbaric streak dating to ancient times.

The fault is not so much in the act but of the Govt of the region where such acts take place be it India, BD, Pak or Afghanistan for poor control of its region which permits such groups to exist.

 

[Beskar]

"Seems more like the Polish PRIME MINSTER's fault than ours."

Does the above line imply that ransom ought to have been paid ? .. & that not paying was the fault ?

To kill a human for no fault of his is bad but to behead him shows a mean, savage & barbaric streak dating to ancient times.

The fault is not so much in the act but of the Govt of the region where such acts take place be it India, BD, Pak or Afghanistan for poor control of its region which permits such groups to exist.

Kidnappings for ransom happen in every part of the world. If the demands aren't meant, the Individual captured is killed. It doesn't matter HOW that person is killed. Barbaric or conventional, death is death. To prevent these kidnappings, yes, the Government must provide a safe environment but providing security to every Individual is a tough job. The Government can't provide SPECIAL security to a foreigner simply because he's a foreigner. He's Important to us just as much as the average Citizen.

In this case, Polish Government is at fault just as much as our Government. They failed to "Negotiate" terms and that's what lead to this Incident.

 

[third eye]

In this case, Polish Government is at fault just as much as our Government. They failed to "Negotiate" terms and that's what lead to this Incident.

Interesting..

The Polish Govt ought to have done what the local Govt could not do in its own country.

 

[Flintlock]

Poland condemns killing of citizen in Pakistan

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD – 47 minutes ago

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Poland condemned as "bestial" the apparent beheading of one its citizens by Pakistani militants, a killing that underscored the challenges facing a new U.S. envoy who arrived in the region Monday to try to stem the terror threat.

Pakistan has witnessed several attacks on foreigners in recent months as its overall security has deteriorated amid a growing al-Qaida and Taliban-led insurgency that is also destabilizing neighboring Afghanistan. In early February, an American U.N. worker was abducted in the southwestern city of Quetta, purportedly by separatists.

The Polish hostage, Piotr Stanczak, was abducted close to the Afghan border on Sept. 28 by armed men.

On Sunday, the Taliban released to local and foreign media organizations a seven-minute video of him apparently being beheaded. A man on the film says Stanczak was killed because the Pakistan government refused to exchange him for Taliban prisoners.

If confirmed, Stanczak's death would apparently be the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl was beheaded in 2002.

Polish security services minister Jacek Cichocki said Monday in Poland that in his opinion "that is the Pole and the film is authentic," adding final confirmation would have to wait until diplomatic and consular services receive the body.

Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said the video showed a "bestial execution" and that he would try to ensure the killers were punished.

Stanczak was surveying oil and gas fields for Geofizyka Krakow, a Polish geophysics institute.

"We believed the whole time, even up to the last minute, that the kidnapping affair would end well. Now, we know that's not the case," Leopold Sulkowski, president of the institute, told reporters in Krakow, Poland.

"At this sad and tragic moment, we can't find clear or strong enough words to condemn the monstrous and criminal act."

The video was given to an Associated Press reporter Sunday in northwestern Pakistan on a flash drive by an intermediary who said he obtained it from the Taliban. The AP has elected not to distribute the images. Other international media also reported receiving or viewing footage of the killing.

Pakistani Interior Ministry spokesman Shahidullah Baig said Sunday the government was investigating the existence of the video. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan has soared since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001. Many militants fled across the border to Pakistan, establishing bases and continuing to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama has made resolving the Afghan war a key focus of his foreign policy, appointing diplomat Richard Holbrooke as a special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Holbrooke, who was the White House envoy to the Balkans in the Kosovo conflict, arrived in Pakistan late Monday on a trip that is also scheduled to take him to Afghanistan and India.

"The United States looks forward to reviewing our policies and renewing our commitment and friendship with the people of Pakistan," he said in a statement. He is scheduled to stay in the country until Thursday, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

The State Department has described the visit as a listening tour to help form the basis of future American policy decisions in the region.

At a security conference in Germany over the weekend, Holbrooke described the Afghan campaign as "one theater of war straddling an ill-defined border."

"We have to think of it that way and not distinguish between the two," he said.

Also Monday, at least 14 people died and six others were wounded when mortar shells hit a house twice in the Darra Adam Khel area, a local government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

It was unclear who fired the shells, but the second landed as people gathered to help those struck by the first.

Darra Adam Khel lies just outside the semiautonomous tribal regions, where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have long had strongholds.

Associated Press writers Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Ryan Lucas and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed to this report.
The Associated Press: Poland condemns killing of citizen in Pakistan

 

[DarkStar]

"Seems more like the Polish PRIME MINSTER's fault than ours."

Does the above line imply that ransom ought to have been paid ? .. & that not paying was the fault ?

To kill a human for no fault of his is bad but to behead him shows a mean, savage & barbaric streak dating to ancient times.

The fault is not so much in the act but of the Govt of the region where such acts take place be it India, BD, Pak or Afghanistan for poor control of its region which permits such groups to exist.

Paying of such ransoms (as happens in south Asia) or releasing prisoners in exchange is a recipe for disaster. All this does is perpetuates the belief that this can be a lucrative business for criminals and terrorists to partake in. More and more people will be kidnapped.

Instead, this should have been nipped in the bud, with maybe the unfortunate sacrifice of some innocents. Yet in the long run, more innocents would have been saved. I think the Polish govt. did Pakistan a favour by taking this stance. Only wish our own politicians had the same courage.

They, however, take their cue from appeasers in history such as Chamberlain. A sure shot in the foot.