Killing of one more S-K hostage grimes the situation

July 31: Abduction of the South Koreans by Talibani militants is taking a grim turn as one more South Korean citizen has been killed by the militants on Monday night. And spokesperson of Taliban threatened with more killings without setting any time limit in case their demands are not entertained soon.

Taliban spokesperson confirmed the killing of another hostage named Shim Shung Min as afghan government took its warning light and did not act even after the dead-line ended.

Afghan police recovered the dead body of the hostage from a village of Arizo Kalley in Andar district, in southern province of Ghazni where it was thrown by the militants.

Taliban spokesperson Yousuf Ahmadi complained that in spite of setting various deadlines, the government did not heed. He warned that they will receive more dead bodies if the government does not agree to release taliban prisoners in exchange for hostages.

South Korean prime minister condemned the killing as an intolerable act of barbarity and asked Afghan government to try every possible means for the safe release of the hostages.

Situation has become grim, as Taliban is not ready to settle on anything but the release of their brethren from the afghan jails while Afghan Government is under pressure not to let the violent militants free. As in March when government freed five prisoners in exchange for the Italian journalist, it earned the wrath of the international community specially US and Europe. The decision was highly criticized by the west.

Karzai Government is insistent on solving the issue by negotiation as it tried to appeal to the religious sense of abductors saying that it is un-Islamic to kidnap and kill women and it is also against Afghan culture. But such appeals were rejected by Taliban militants on the ground of induction of women in army by the government and the religious principle of ‘an eye for an eye’.

Afghan National Council of clerics also condemned the act of kidnapping women saying “the killing of women is against Islam, against the Afghan culture and they should not do it”.

No principle no sentiment could divert the militants from their adamant stand that they want the release of Taliban fighters from jails.