Hostage escapes Taliban captivity

Islamabad: One of the two Chinese engineers kidnapped about seven weeks ago by local Taliban militants in Pakistan's embattled northern Swat valley was rescued yesterday, security officials said.

While being shifted by their captors from one place to another, the engineers attempted to escape. One managed to find refuge in a house while the other was captured by the militants after he fell and got injured, they said.

An army spokesman confirmed that one engineer had been rescued and said the fate of the other was not known. A security official said the engineer who successfully dodged pursuers was handed over to the army by the residents.

The Chinese were kidnapped at gunpoint in August along with their Pakistani driver and guard, who were later released. The engineers were at the time working on installation of telecommunication towers in the region.

The picturesque Swat valley, once a popular tourist destination, has been in turmoil for the past few months, with the army carrying out operations to neutralise the militants and re-establish the government writ in the region.

Pakistan has been under severe pressure from the Chinese government over the hostages, with Beijing publicly requesting that Islamabad rescue them.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the second hostage was injured before he was re-captured.

"Last night an incident happened after which one Chinese engineer was hurt and the other went missing," Khan said.

A separate Taliban source said the re-captured man had severely injured his leg falling down a steep mountain slope. "They were near the town of Matta in the Swat valley when they made a run for it," he said.

The Taliban have demanded that the government release 122 fighters captured in the area during the military operation.

- With inputs from Reuters