Taliban Hostages-Prisoners Swap Is Only Demand
Korean Captives Will Be Killed One by One Unless Demands Are Met
By Yoon Won-sup with Emal Pashtunyar in Kabul
Staff Reporter
KABUL---The Taliban spokesman said Korean hostages will be set free as soon as 22 prisoners are released.
In an exclusive interview with The Korea Times Thursday here, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said that the only demand is the release of prisoners, which is still not accepted.
He added the militant group had never asked for ransom in return for releasing the Korean hostages.
Taliban have said that they had two demands to set free the Korean citizens. The first is the withdrawal of Korean troops from Afghanistan and the other is the release of Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails.
The spokesman said that they have accepted the withdrawal of Korean troops by the end of this year. He said they want the release of 22 prisoners in exchange for freeing the remaining 22 Korean hostages.
To a question as to why the eight hostages were not set free and the decision reversed at the eleventh hour, the spokesman blamed the Afghan government for the deadlock. He said the Korean team and the Taliban had agreed to the swap of eight people from each side but the Afghan government interference sabotaged the first phase of that deal.
Asked why they are making such a demand from Korean government which is not in their jurisdiction, like the release of Taliban prisoners, the spokesman said the Koreans are in Kabul to help the Afghan government. If they are supporting the government, then the government too, should come to their rescue and release the prisoners to guarantee the lives of Koreans.
About the killing of one Korean citizen, the spokesman said he was killed to press the Koreans and convey the message that they will kill the remaining hostages if their demands were not accepted. At the same time, he said that their men were losing patience with the delaying tactics of the Afghan government.
To a question about the health of the remaining Koreans, Ahmadi said that they were well and being fed. At the same time, he said they had no arrangements of protecting them from heat and providing them with medical treatment if any of them fell ill.
Asked when he expects the Koreans will be freed, the Taliban spokesman said that it depends on the Afghan government. ``They will be freed the moment when the Afghan government and Korean team accept their demand.''
About their demand of the release of Taliban prisoners, Ahmadi said they want the release of their 22 men in exchange for the freedom of the 22 hostages. ``We will not budge an inch from our demand regarding the release of prisoners,'' he said.
About the negotiation process and their final deadline, he said the talks were still underway. He said the final deadline was 1 a.m. Thursday (5:30 a.m. Thursday, Korean Standard Time), which is over. But the Taliban had not taken any action because they were awaiting the results of the negotiations.
The hostages would be killed one by one if the negotiations failed, was the reply when asked what their next strategy would be.