Taliban Admit to Kidnapping Two ZTE Engineers in Pakistan

The Chinese government has urged Pakistan to assist in rescuing two Chinese telecoms engineers who have apparently been kidnapped by Taliban militants. The Pakistan based Taliban issued a statement saying that they had taken the two engineers in the Dir district in North West Frontier Province and will issue further demands shortly.

"We have requested that Pakistan rescue the two missing staff and ensure their safety," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

The two engineers, working for ZTE were kidnapped along with their local driver and a security guard  in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border where they had been checking a mobile phone tower. Some reports from local media suggest that the tower belonged to the GSM network, Zong (formerly Paktel) - which is owned by China Mobile. 

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muslim Khan said that "the Taliban's 'Shura' or council will decide the fate of the Chinese engineers,"

The Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas have often attacked mobile phone retailers for selling ringtones and other unapproved media. Earlier this year, a spokesman for the same Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group, Maulana Faqir Mohammed said that they would not allow commuters to play music in their cars or use musical ringtones on mobile phones.

Posted to the site on 2nd September 2008