Taliban Taliban Extend Deadline by 24 Hours
Hostage-Takers Want to Swap Koreans for Prisoners
By Gul Khan, Yoon Won-sup
Contributing Writer, Staff Reporter
The Taliban militia, who kidnapped 23 Koreans in Afghanistan Thursday, extended its negotiation for the release of the Korean hostages till today.
The official Taliban Web site said the negotiation was extended by 24 hours to 11:30 tonight (Korea Standard Time) but the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported it was stretched to 2:30 p.m. today by 15 hours.
The hostages are reported to be in good health, according to AFP.
The extension was a great relief to family members of the hostages and indicated doves dominate hawks in the Taliban elders for the negotiation.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi earlier demanded that the Afghan government release Taliban prisoners if it is interested in the safety of the Korean abductees. They requested to exchange an equal number of Taliban prisoners for Korean hostages.
He didn't touch upon the subject of Korean troops' pullout during his talks with the media. Earlier, some media outlets quoting the spokesman reported they had issued Saturday's deadline on the Korean hostages.
However, Ahmadi said his men had killed the Germans and Afghans, as the respective government failed to come forward for negotiations, and they will kill the Koreans if their demands were not accepted by the Afghan government.
Meanwhile, a Korean government task force led by Vice Foreign Minister Cho Jung-pyo arrived in Afghanistan Sunday afternoon to prepare for negotiations over the release and safe return of the Korean hostages.
The Korean government and the Taliban militia began negotiations on release, Saturday night, according to Al Jazeer.
But the government, declining details about the negotiation for security reasons, said it could not officially confirm the Taliban's demand for a prisoner-hostage exchange.
The Korean government was clear in its decision to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as scheduled by the end of this year, which the Taliban welcomed. However, the release of the Taliban prisoners is in the jurisdiction of the Afghan government. It is not clear whether Afghanistan would agree to such a deal.
Afghan President Hamid Karai authorized the release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for a kidnapped Italian reporter in March. But he called the trade a one-time deal in order not to encourage more kidnappings.
President Roh Moo-hyun asked his Afghan counterpart on Saturday to cooperate with Seoul to release the Korean hostages, during a 10-minute telephone conversation.
The pullout process has already begun since the paperwork is under way, according to Rep. Kim Sung-gon of the pro-government Uri Party, chairman of the National Defense Committee.
``It takes about five to six months to pull out troops stationed overseas and I was briefed from the government that the paperwork is under way,'' Kim said. ``This situation does not differ from the Taliban's demand.''
The Korean troops of Dasan Engineering Unit and Dongui Medical Unit largely work on humanitarian projects such as medical assistance and reconstruction in the U.S.-led coalition.
The Korean hostages _ 18 women and five men, mostly medical doctors and nurses _ went to Afghanistan to offer medical services. Most of them are members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province.
