Swiss couple kidnapped in Balochistan, now in Fata

[Leader]

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Oh God this is bad news, hope he is ok.

Oh ok phew, well whoever it was hope they get out safe.

Looks like it has become bit of a business now.

‘Huge ransom paid in Pakistan’ for Western hostages | World | DAWN.COM

and that was not their plan either, he wanted to travel backpacking, and from Tuftan wanted to go to quetta and then straight multan and onwards to lahore and up in the north ! #

just like the Somali Pirates have found patrons so have these outlaws ! afterall its all business what gives revenue !

[Safriz]

and that was not their plan either, he wanted to travel backpacking, and from Tuftan wanted to go to quetta and then straight multan and onwards to lahore and up in the north ! #

just like the Somali Pirates have found patrons so have these outlaws ! afterall its all business what gives revenue !

so its now established that the swiss guy on this forum actually listened to our advice and he is not the one kidnapped...?
he sounded like a very nice guy and hope he is ok.

[Safriz]

his profile pat4220 is "registered" and turned light green....whatever that means?

[Leader]

so its now established that the swiss guy on this forum actually listened to our advice and he is not the one kidnapped...?
he sounded like a very nice guy and hope he is ok.

hopefully..... and the other if normal tourists may get free too...

---------- Post added at 06:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 PM ----------

his profile pat4220 is "registered" and turned light green....whatever that means?

its not green anymore... by green it means he is online on defence.pk

[Kevrai]

cia agents

[Oldman1]

Behead them!! CIA!! No Swiss would ever be in Pakistan. The Taliban knew that. They ain't stupid.

[Ajaxpaul]

QUETTA: Gunmen who kidnapped two Swiss tourists in a volatile southwestern Pakistani province have taken them to a neighboring tribal area that was once a Taliban stronghold, a senior government official said Sunday.

The Swiss tourists, a man and a woman who were traveling through Balochistan by car, were kidnapped by gunmen Friday as they dined at a hotel in Lorali city.

Officials in the neighboring South Waziristan tribal area have been asked to keep an eye out for ”suspicious elements,” said Baluchistan’s home secretary, Zafarullah Baloch. Tribesmen in both areas have also been asked for help, he said.

The five gunmen were speaking Pashtu and drove off with the pair in a green car across the Zhob area of Baluchistan and eventually into South Waziristan, said Baloch.

South Waziristan served as the main sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban before the military launched an offensive in 2009. But many militants still populate the area.

The kidnapping is the first such incident involving Swiss citizens in Pakistan, and authorities in Switzerland have set up a task force combining police and intelligence services to work on the case, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said. The pair’s identity was not disclosed.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is a particularly dangerous region in Pakistan. It is the scene of a low-level separatist insurgency, and criminal gangs involved in the kidnapping for ransom trade are common.

The Swiss were driving from Punjab province, and when they reached Lorali, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of Quetta, the capital of the province, they were given a police escort, local Pakistan officials have said. However, once they reached its outskirts, beyond the area under police jurisdiction, they were left without security guides.

Most kidnapping victims in the country are Pakistani, but foreign aid workers, diplomats and other foreigners have also been targeted.

Gunmen take Swiss couple to Pakistani tribal area | Metropolitan | DAWN.COM

[Safriz]

thats sad......

[Roybot]

Swiss hostages moved to tribal areas in Pakistan | Provinces | DAWN.COM

[Mr. Khan]

‘Swiss hostages moved to tribal areas’

A Swiss couple kidnapped on holiday in Pakistan has been smuggled into the lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, a notorious haven for Taliban and al Qaeda, provincial home secretary Zafarullah Baloch said on Monday.

‘Swiss hostages moved to tribal areas’ – The Express Tribune

[Don Jaguar]

QUETTA: The Balochistan government believes that a Swiss couple, who was kidnapped by unidentified armed men in the province’s Loralai district early this month, has been taken to the Federally Administratively Tribal Areas (Fata).

Provincial home secretary Zafarullah Baloch told The Express Tribune that the Swiss nationals, Divid Oliver Och and Daniela Widmer, had been transported into Fata from Zhob district.

Oliver and Widmer were last seen on July 2 at Minara, some 14 kms from Loralai.

“They are close to the Afghan border but still in Fata,” he said.

“According to our information, there were five people who kidnapped them at gun point,” he said, adding that all the kidnappers were Pushtu-speaking.

“They were last seen in the Tank Frontier Region and near the Jundola tribal region,” Baloch said. “It is yet to be confirmed whether the Swiss couple was kidnapped by Taliban or any other organisation.”

He added though that their department has not yet received any demand for ransom from the kidnappers.

Local militants’ involvement

The Levies and tribal police officials suspect that the Taliban from Fata are responsible for the kidnapping but a home department official said he suspects that local militants are involved. “Such kidnappings are not possible without the involvement of locals,” he added.

“The kidnappers may take them to Afghanistan ultimately,” said another senior official of the provincial home department while speaking to The Express Tribune. “At present, however, they are detained in Fata,” he said.

Foreigners traveled without NOC

No one has taken the responsibility so far nor has the government received any demand by the kidnappers, deputy inspector-general police Loralai Tariq Javed told the The Express Tribune.

He said that the Swiss nationals entered Baluchistan without a proper no-objection certificate from Islamabad – a pre-condition for foreigners visiting Balochistan.

The kidnappers will prefer to talk to the Swiss embassy in Islamabad directly for ransom instead of negotiating with the federal or provincial government, said another police official.

The kidnappers will initially interact with the Swiss authorities even if they have some other demands for the release of the couple, he added.

Tracking kidnapped foreigners:

[lionheartsalahudin]

well that is sad ,but foreigners should avoid coming to pak specially such troubled areas as our western belt.

leader brov i am afraid the comments by our swiss member matches up with the dates his last post in the link is on 25/06/11 he mentions of crossing the border in a weeks time add a week 02/07/11 is the date after adding a week.

the first news source quoted is on 1/07/11 and that is a weeks time from last post of our guest,so i am getting a bad feeling that some of us might have underestimated the situation putting him on ease,anyways lets hope for the best and lets hope we at defense.pk did'nt let anyone down

[Spring Onion]

QUETTA: Gunmen who kidnapped two Swiss tourists in a volatile southwestern Pakistani province have taken them to a neighboring tribal area that was once a Taliban stronghold, a senior government official said Sunday.

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but we KP/FATA do not share border with Balochistan so howcome it says neighbouring tribal area

[Don Jaguar]

but we KP/FATA do not share border with Balochistan so howcome it says neighbouring tribal area

Jana what happened to you???

Map of FATA highlighted in red

[Spring Onion]

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Local militants’ involvement
The Levies and tribal police officials suspect that the Taliban from Fata are responsible for the kidnapping but a home department official said he suspects that local militants are involved. “Such kidnappings are not possible without the involvement of locals,” he added.

“The kidnappers may take them to Afghanistan ultimately,” said another senior official of the provincial home department while speaking to The Express Tribune. “At present, however, they are detained in Fata,” he said.

Foreigners traveled without NOC
No one has taken the responsibility so far nor has the government received any demand by the kidnappers, deputy inspector-general police Loralai Tariq Javed told the The Express Tribune.

He said that the Swiss nationals entered Baluchistan without a proper no-objection certificate from Islamabad – a pre-condition for foreigners visiting Balochistan.

The kidnappers will prefer to talk to the Swiss embassy in Islamabad directly for ransom instead of negotiating with the federal or provincial government, said another police official.

The kidnappers will initially interact with the Swiss authorities even if they have some other demands for the release of the couple, he added.

It clearly shows BLA terrorists having safe heavens in Afghanistan are behind this kidnapping. The Swiss Govt should contact USA and pressuris the BLA terrorists who are being shelttered in Afghanistan with help of India, to release the swiss couple