Taliban militants holding a Swiss couple said Friday that they were ready to swap them for Aafia Siddiqui, who has been convicted in the US on charges of terrorism. Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 28, were taken away by gunmen on July 1 in the Loralai district of the south-western province of Balochistan while on their way back to Europe through Iran and Turkey, after entering Pakistan from India on June 28.
They were moved to South Waziristan in the north-west, one of seven tribal districts, and kept in the area controlled by a Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir, who has an agreement not to fight government forces. Nazir handed them over to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation of a dozen militant outfits active in the area along the Afghan border.
Waliur Rehamn, deputy head of TTP, said that they were ready for the conditional release of the Swiss. "We are ready for a bargain: if Dr Aafia Siddiqui is released, we can release the Swiss man and woman," he said talking to the media in the Loran area of Shawal valley in the North Waziristan district, which is considered a hotbed of the militants.
"We have not subjected the couple to any kind of violence and we do not intend to do so, but we know that Dr Aafia was beaten by the US while she was in their captivity," he said. The militant leader warned that if Aafia was not released, then their Islamic court would decide the fate of the Swiss and they will not hesitate to carry out any punishment, an indirect reference to the past execution of Westerners by them. "We will continue to fight until the infidel armies leave Afghanistan," he said.
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