Do you like this story?
TweetWARSAW (AFP) — A Polish engineer kidnapped two weeks ago in Pakistan by suspected Taliban militants appeared in a video address Tuesday urging the release of jailed Taliban fighters.
“I’m in the hands of the Pakistani Taliban … I demand that all those watching and listening to me, including Poles, put pressure on the (Pakistani) government to free those (Taliban) who are jailed. In this way, I will also be freed,” engineer Piotr Stanczak said in a video aired by Poland’s TVN24 news channel Tuesday.
The video was originally received by Pakistan media outlets.
Stanczak appears in traditional Pakistani attire sitting on a carpet in front of a stone wall. He spoke in a calm voice into a microphone with the barrels of two rifles pointed at him.
Family and friends confirmed the person who appeared in the video was indeed Stanczak. He said his captors were treating him well.
According to TVN24, the video was made approximately four days ago.
Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski declared he was prepared to negotiate, but cast doubt on the real intentions of the Taliban.
He said he was also prepared to make important concessions, but stressed the Taliban’s demands were not focused on Poland.
Poland’s foreign ministry confirmed Tuesday it was working on freeing the hostage.
Stanczak’s kidnapping came one week after the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which left at least 60 people dead, heightening concerns about instability in Pakistan, a key ally in the US “war on terror.”
Stanczak works for the Krakow-based Geofizyka oil and gas exploration company.
He was kidnapped September 28 by armed men during an assault in the Attock region, some 110 kilometers west of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Pakistan’s military has been waging a major campaign in the tribal-dominated area against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, who are accused of launching attacks on international troops across the border in Afghanistan.
Yeah those Taliban, real freedom fighters, brave stand up kinds of guys. They take hostages to get their way, because they cannot win militarily, and their pan-arab moon good allah is a false idol granting them nothing. I heard a saying once, when I was a kid, “Cowards take hostages, REAL WARRIORS do not.”.
Related posts:
- Pakistan: Taliban war now threatens to reach beyond tribal areas
- Taliban Militants Burn 3 Girls' Schools, Blow Up Hospital In Pakistan
- Pakistan: Pro-Taliban chief ready to fight Americans
- Afghan paper says US should target Taliban in Pakistan
- Afghanistan: Taliban release photos of beheaded 'prostitutes' on Internet
