By Yoon Won-sup, Emal Pashtunyar in Kabul
Staff Reporter
KABUL _ After much confusion about the release of the two sick Korean hostages by their captors Saturday night, Taliban militants finally decided to set them free Sunday night though the Korean government has yet to confirm their freedom.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, who sometimes gives misleading reports to the media, said Saturday evening that the hostages had already been set free and were on their way to Ghazni City, capital of the province where they were seized.
However, neither Afghan officials nor a Korean delegation involved in face-to-face talks with two Taliban negotiators confirmed Ahmadi's report.
A Taliban commander who is said to be holding the hostages contradicted the statement of the spokesman and said the hostages had not been freed.
A source close to the commander, identified as Abdullah, told The Korea Times that the Taliban had received orders from their leadership council to free the two women hostages as a gesture of goodwill toward the Afghan and Korean sides, but they had not yet released them.
The source, remaining anonymous, confided that the two women, who are said to be seriously ill, will be freed in the afternoon on Sunday. He said the decision about the remaining hostages depends on acceptance of the militants' demands.
Asked if the Taliban had received any ransom from the Korean government, the source said this was untrue. However, in Kabul, speculation is rife that the militants have been given huge sums of money from Korea.
Earlier, one of the two Taliban negotiators holding face-to-face talks with Korean delegation in Ghazni announced that there will be a breakthrough in the coming 48 hours.
Officials at the Korean Embassy here and Seoul officials are tight-lipped about any development in talks with the Taliban delegation or the release of the two female hostages. The embassy is not responding to telephone calls.
The militants had demanded the release of Taliban prisoners in return for the release of the hostages, otherwise negotiations will not make any progress.
But the Afghan government made clear that it will not strike a deal with them for fear of encouraging more kidnappings.
The Korean delegation and the Taliban militants tried to have a third face-to-face meeting on Sunday.
In previous negotiations, which lasted for several hours, the Taliban initially demanded a swap of eight Taliban prisoners for the same number of hostages, according to the source.
Regarding the level of security of the negotiators proposed by the Afghan government, Ahmadi said, ``The Afghan government seems to have no power. The actual power seems to belong to the multinational forces. The security guarantee seems to stem from those countries.''
Though the tribe elders' meeting, dubbed ``Jirga'' held in Kabul Aug. 9-11, called for the release of the hostages, the Taliban said they have no reason to comply.
The militants have already killed two male hostages including Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu, the leader of the Korean Christian group.
The remaining Korean captives are 18 women and three men, mostly in their 20s and 30s who went to Afghanistan July 13 to offer volunteer services.