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| India-Pakistan |
| Taliban shelve plan to kill Canadian hostage |
| 2009-04-08 |
| Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal region have decided to shelve plans to kill Canadian hostage Beverly Giesbrecht, but her captors are apparently still holding out for a ransom before releasing her. "After broad-based consultations, the Shura [leadership council] has postponed indefinitely the plan to kill the woman," said Qari, a close associate of Taliban commander Gul Bahadur, who asked to be identified by his first name only. The abduction of Ms. Giesbrecht, 53, has become a sensitive issue, and tribesmen of the embattled area are reluctant to speak on the matter openly. However, some locals said that while there is no hard information about her release, it could come at any time. In a video released last month, the West Vancouver resident said her captors warned that they would behead her if their demands for $375,000 (U.S.) weren't met by the end of March. That deadline was later extended to April 6. She was seized at gunpoint in the Bannu region of northern Pakistan in November. The local government offered the captors a lower amount of money for her release, but it was rejected as "too little to be considered," according to both a Taliban source and a tribal elder negotiating her release. "For the time being, we failed to patch up the deal to secure her release," said a tribal elder who is part of the negotiation team and who did not want his name revealed. "But I am optimistic she will be freed." Ms. Giesbrecht is a convert to Islam who also calls herself Khadija Abdul Qahaar. She publishes a pro-Islamic website, Jihad Unspun, and went to Pakistan last summer to conduct research as a freelance journalist. When asked about reports of her deteriorating health, the tribal elder said: "I have not met or seen her, but we are told that she often feels weak and unwell." Neither sources within the Taliban nor the tribal negotiator would reveal any information about her translator or driver, who were also abducted. Taliban officials have previously said their fate would be decided once Ms. Giesbrecht's situation is resolved. The Canadian embassy in Islamabad has been working behind the scenes with Pakistani authorities to help secure her release. "We are in contact with all the concerned Pakistani authorities. And it is the prime responsibility of the host country to protect the lives and properties of guests," an official with the Canadian embassy said yesterday. An official with the local government administration in North Waziristan, a rugged region along the Afghan border, said they were "making all-out efforts to get her out from their [Taliban] captivity at every cost." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #6 Ms. Giesbrecht is a convert to Islam who also calls herself Khadija Abdul Qahaar. She publishes a pro-Islamic website, Jihad Unspun I'd chip in to pay them to keep her. |
| Posted by: Darrell 2009-04-08 15:34 |
| #5 Bummer. No ransom money and if you whack her it just gets lost in the undending stream of news stories of muslims killing muslims. Some days it just don't pay to get out of bed. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-04-08 15:19 |
| #4 go ahead, we double-dog-dare-ya, ya cowards with weak moustaches |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-08 14:29 |
| #3 Perhaps the Taliban hostage takers have been able to collect a few thousand dollars and they figure maybe they can get the $375k a few thousand per month forever. |
| Posted by: mhw 2009-04-08 13:18 |
| #2 Ha! Didn't know what you got yourselves into, did ya, boys? Now ya can't get rid of the crazy bitch... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-08 11:59 |
| #1 "BWAK-bwak-bwak..." |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-04-08 10:45 |