Swiss abducted to ex-Taliban stronghold
Source: Agencies |
July 4, 2011, Monday
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GUNMEN who kidnapped two Swiss tourists in a volatile southwestern Pakistani province have taken them to a neighboring tribal area that was once a Taliban stronghold, a senior government official said yesterday.
The Swiss tourists, a man and a woman who were traveling through Baluchistan by car, were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday as they dined at a hotel in Lorali city.
Officials in the neighboring South Waziristan tribal area have been asked to keep an eye out for "suspicious elements," said Baluchistan's home secretary, Zafarullah Baloch. Tribesmen in both areas have also been asked for help, he said.
The five gunmen speaking Pashtu drove off with the pair in a green car across the Zhob area of Baluchistan and eventually into South Waziristan, said Baloch. South Waziristan served as the main sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban before the military launched an offensive in 2009. But many militants still populate the area.
The kidnapping is the first such incident involving Swiss citizens, and authorities in Switzerland have set up a task force to work on the case, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said. The pair's identity was not disclosed.
Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is a particularly dangerous region in Pakistan. It is the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency, and criminal gangs involved in the kidnapping for ransom trade are common.
Most kidnapping victims in the country are Pakistani, but foreign aid workers, diplomats and other foreigners have also been targeted.
The Swiss tourists, a man and a woman who were traveling through Baluchistan by car, were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday as they dined at a hotel in Lorali city.
Officials in the neighboring South Waziristan tribal area have been asked to keep an eye out for "suspicious elements," said Baluchistan's home secretary, Zafarullah Baloch. Tribesmen in both areas have also been asked for help, he said.
The five gunmen speaking Pashtu drove off with the pair in a green car across the Zhob area of Baluchistan and eventually into South Waziristan, said Baloch. South Waziristan served as the main sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban before the military launched an offensive in 2009. But many militants still populate the area.
The kidnapping is the first such incident involving Swiss citizens, and authorities in Switzerland have set up a task force to work on the case, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said. The pair's identity was not disclosed.
Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is a particularly dangerous region in Pakistan. It is the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency, and criminal gangs involved in the kidnapping for ransom trade are common.
Most kidnapping victims in the country are Pakistani, but foreign aid workers, diplomats and other foreigners have also been targeted.
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