Pakistani tribesmen failed to gain the release of two Chinese engineers, Wang Ende and Wang Peng, being held hostage in South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border, after talks were held with the kidnappers: “Abdullah [Mehsud], a former Guantanamo Bay inmate who is at a separate location from the kidnappers, insisted he would not order the freeing of the Chinese until his demands were met, said the source, who did not want to be identified… A meeting, or jirga, of hundreds of elders of the Mehsud tribe to which Abdullah belongs and which dispatched the delegation met in Tank, near South Waziristan, but failed to find a solution to the standoff, said a leading elder, Qayum Sher.” The full Reuters report is here.
The engineers were kidnapped on Saturday while working on a hydroelectric project. Pakistani authorities have said progress is being made in negotiations with the kidnappers and that they expect the hostages to be released soon.
