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Free suspects in Benazir’s murder for envoy: Taliban

* Kidnappers of ambassador demand release of 12 people, including Lal Masjid chief cleric and TNSM chief
* Tribesmen say kidnappers not in Khyber Agency

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: The kidnappers of missing Pakistan envoy Tariq Azizuddin have demanded the release of 12 prisoners, including the men suspected of plotting Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, in exchange for his freedom, the BBC reported on Sunday.

According to the BBC, the kidnappers have demanded the release of Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, Tehreek-e-Nifaaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TSNM) chief Maulana Sufi, five Afghan Taliban and the three men arrested on charges of allegedly plotting Benazir Bhutto’s assassination — Aitzaz Shah, Hussnain and Rafaqat. According to the Online news agency, the people demanded by the kidnappers in exchange for the release of the envoy are all linked to militant commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Maulvi Umar, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told the BBC that the organisation had no involvement in the kidnapping of Azizuddin, adding that they also had no knowledge of the abduction.

No confirmation: A tribal leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that the tribesmen of the area could not confirm whether the kidnapped ambassador had ever been kept in any tribal area of Pakistan or Afghanistan. He also said that they had no information on the identity of the kidnappers. Separately, the political administration in the Khyber Agency has claimed that local Taliban were not involved in the abduction of the envoy, according to Dawn News. The assistant political agent of the agency stressed that Azizuddin was not in the Khyber Agency.

News of Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, who has been missing since February 11, surfaced when an Arab satellite channel broadcast a video of him on Saturday. Flanked by his driver and bodyguard, Azizuddin urged the Government of Pakistan to secure his speedy release.

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