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| India-Pakistan |
| 'Azizuddin reached South Waziristan through Afghanistan' |
| 2008-07-17 |
| Former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin was taken to South Waziristan after a detour of over 100 kilometres into Afghan territory, sources said on Wednesday. "The ambassador reached South Waziristan through Afghanistan as clashes in the Orakzai tribal region changed the travel plans of his abductors," sources close to Azizuddin's family told Daily Times. The former envoy was kidnapped from the Khyber Agency on February 11 and was released over three months later on May 17 after the government paid out a "huge ransom", the sources claimed. However, the federal government has said that it rescued the ambassador during a "commando operation" and paid no money. "He (the ambassador) was treated well, but the initial hours of his abduction were terrible because his abductors took him into Afghanistan to escape the clashes in Orakzai," the sources added. "At the time, Azizuddin was not aware that he was being driven through Afghanistan but was informed of it later." While the former ambassador spoke briefly to the media at his Islamabad residence hours after his release, he has yet to give a detailed interview about what really happened to him. Baitullah's role: Baitullah Mehsud, whose base lies in South Waziristan, has denied that he had any direct involvement in Azizuddin's kidnapping but admits "another group" was involved. However, Zulfiqar Mehsud, deputy to Baitullah, told Daily Times on May 23 that his group had "kidnapped the ambassador". "We did not know whom we had kidnapped in the initial hours. However, when we heard through the media that our prisoner was Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, we were overjoyed," Zulfiqar said. According to the sources, Baitullah would meet Azizuddin "once a week" and was always "very apologetic". "Baitullah Mehsud told Azizuddin that he was kidnapped without his (Baitullah's) permission and that people like Azizuddin should not be kidnapped," they said. The sources say that Azizuddin was treated very well during his captivity. "He (the diplomat) was allowed to walk and used to talk to his family on the phone quite frequently," they added. They also said that Azizuddin was still confused over who had really kidnapped him: "He is not sure how true it is that his 'own people' (countrymen) were behind his kidnapping." |
| Posted by:Fred |