No Progress in Taliban Hostage Crisis

As the negotiations between the Korean government and the Taliban for the release of the Korean hostages held captive have not shown any signs of a breakthrough, Taliban militants said Wednesday that they will not accept the proposal to swap female Taliban prisoners and Korean female abductees, raising fears of a prolonged hostage crisis.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi denied that he had any knowledge of offers from the Taliban Commander in Ghazni province to release Korean female hostages in exchange for Taliban female prisoners, reported the AFP, a local new agency.

The Pakistani news media also reported on Wednesday news of a “Peace jirga” meeting, which was slated for August 9-11 and was thought likely to be a turning point in resolving the deadlock in the negotiations. It was reported, however, that it seems unlikely that it will provide any breakthrough as many pro-Taliban tribal elders and politicians subsequently refused to attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, Taliban Commander Mullah Abdullah confirmed they have received some of the medicine delivered by an Afghan private medical team, the Yonhap news agency reported.

ecolee@donga.com