Poland has asked the U.S. for support in hunting down the Taliban militants suspected in the beheading of a Polish engineer in Pakistan, the nation's foreign minister said Tuesday. Radoslaw Sikorski said Poland's ambassador in Washington has submitted a note to the U.S. State Department "with a request for support for our efforts to capture the killers." He added that Warsaw has filed the same request with other countries, but did not specify which ones.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said he had not yet heard of the request. "But of course, should they come to us with a request for assistance, we will do whatever we can.''
Sikorski said Poland is also offering a 1 million zloty($290,000) reward for information that would lead to the arrest of those who killed Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak. Warsaw also has plans to issue an international warrant for their arrest. "Today, Poland is going to focus on carrying out its investigation and capturing and putting the culprits on trial,'' Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. "We have enough examples, as well as patience and the means, to bring the case to a just end.''
Authorities received a video Sunday purportedly showing militants beheading Stanczak. Sikorski told reporters that the Pakistani Foreign Ministry officially confirmed Stanczak's death earlier Tuesday, but still had no information on the fate of his body. Speaking at a joint news conference alongside Sikorski, Tusk saidit wasn't clear how the Pakistani authorities were able to confirmthe death without the body. Officials have said that a seven-minute video purporting to showthe 42-year-old's slaying appeared authentic.
Also Tuesday, Polish Senate Speaker Bogdan Borusewicz called off a three-day visit to Warsaw this week by Pakistani lawmakers, but said it should not be seen as an unfriendly gesture. He said its timing would have been inappropriate in the aftermath of the killing, which has horrified the country. |