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Pak-Afghan bus hijacked: Elders negotiate hostages' release
A Pak-Afghan friendship bus was hijacked in Khyber Agency on Wednesday and 40 Afghan passengers were taken hostage, but tribal elders negotiated their release.Armed tribesmen hijacked the Jalalabad-bound bus in the Sultankhel area and took the Afghan passengers hostage to demand the release of seven of their tribesmen arrested in Afghanistan earlier this month. Afghan authorities had falsely accused their tribesmen of theft, the hijackers said, whereas the political administration here claimed it was unable to negotiate the release of their men. Hence, they had taken this drastic step as a last resort to force officials on both sides to release their men, they said. After negotiations with tribal elders, the hijackers released the hostages and let the bus cross the border. One of the negotiators, Zahid Khan Afridi, told Daily Times that those apprehended in Afghanistan were transporters and should be released. Posted by: Fred 2008-03-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=235245 |