Taliban militants in Afghanistan Thursday released 17 Pakistan children who were kidnapped last year after inadvertently crossing the poorly marked border between the two countries, officials said. A group of 20 children from the tribal district of Bajaur were visiting the Ghaki Pass area, a scenic hill resort, during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in September when they entered the Afghan province of Kunar and were picked by militants.
Aslam Zeb, Bajaur's civilian administrator, said that the militants had released 17 children and preparations are being made to bring them from Afghanistan. He did not elaborate upon how the militants came to agree to release the hostages. Tribal sources privy to the development said the release came after long negotiations and payment of a large ransom.
Three children were already released by the captors and reunited with their families last month. All hostages were from the Mamoond tribe, which has formed a militia to fight alongside government forces against the Taliban. Their captors were Pakistani militants who had fled to the Kunar and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan after being driven out of Pakistan by military operations in the Dir and Swat districts. Such forces have conducted several raids on security posts and attacked pro-government tribesmen in border villages.
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