Last-Minute Hitch Delays Release of Sick Captives for Another Day
By Yoon Won-sup
With Emal Pashtunyar in Kabul
Staff Reporter
KABUL _ Taliban militants Sunday decided to release two sick Korean female hostages but last-minute hitches delayed the freedom of the captives until Monday, according to a source here.
``The Taliban leadership decided to delay releasing the two female hostages from Sunday to Monday,'' the source told The Korea Times.
Despite the delay, the South Korean government said a ``positive development'' has been made, indicating that the captives will be released soon.
It is believed that the delayed release signifies something wrong inside the ranks of the militants.
Asked about their previous statements regarding the release of the two, the source said they had received orders from their leadership but some problems in the ongoing talks between Taliban negotiators and a Korean delegation in Ghazni where the militants kidnapped 23 Koreans on July 19 had arisen.
This is why the release of the hostages was postponed for another 24 hours, said the source, who did not want to be named, but said he was a colleague of Taliban commander, Abdullah.
Regarding their talks with the Korean delegation and Afghan officials, the source said the two-man Taliban delegation was still in Ghazni City and was engaged in negotiations. The Korean delegation had a third face-to-face meeting with the Taliban negotiators, Sunday.
With regard to what stopped the Taliban from releasing the two hostages, he said it was confidential and too premature to release the reason to the media. The source also said the militants would release the names of the hostages, who are set to be freed today.
Meanwhile, the continuous delay and backtracking on the hostages issue is pointing to something wrong in the ranks of the Taliban. While some are in favor of releasing them for a huge ransom others _ some hardliners among them _ want the freedom of their colleagues from Afghan jails.
The militants have so far changed their statements twice in the last 24 hours. Earlier, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi told The Korea Times that they were going to set free two sick women hostages within an hour.
However, the release was postponed as Abdullah, said to be holding the hostages, was angry at Ahmadi for releasing information to the media without his permission.
A source close to the commander later said on condition of anonymity that the hostages would be set free Sunday afternoon, however, journalists waited up to 7:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. KST), but there was nothing forthcoming from the militants.
The telephone of the Taliban spokesman was also not being answered, while officials of the Korean Embassy and the Afghan government also remained tight-lipped.
Kabul once again rejected a prisoners for hostages swap, saying it would embolden the militants and create problems for the government on the national and international fronts.
The constant shifting of statements has spawned many questions about the Taliban's credibility and communications among their commanders, leadership and spokesman.
The Saturday night claim of Ahmadi regarding the release of two hostages was rubbished by Abdullah, who said that the Taliban were going to release the captives on Sunday afternoon. However, Abdullah's statement also proved to be wrong as his close associate later told media that the release had been suspended until today.
Since the last misleading information from Ahmadi, many reporters here have stopped contacting him for comments or fresh information about the hostages.
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.
yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr
1 | Teens feel peer pressure to buy luxury goods endorsed by K-pop stars |
![[INTERVIEW] Disney+ 'Big Bet' director on portraying greed and desire](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/af0ee9846e3f45a7b59c1a5b449291c6.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
