SRINAGAR: The “AlFaran” militant outfit has threatened to kill the four foreign tour is held hostage by it if the authorities launched any military operation to rescue them.

Instatement, the outfit said it would not set free any hostage until the authorities released 15 jailed militants as demanded by them.

The outfit wondered why the authorities were taking a tough stand in meeting its demands when several top leaders were freed in exchange of former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter Rubiya Sayed, Doraiswamy and othxs in the past.

Holding the authorities responsible forth killing of Hans Christian Ostro of Norway, the outfit said, “Now the government wants us to kill four other hostages by not conceding our demands immediately and also planning to launch operations against us.

About worldwide condemnation of the killing of Ostro, the outfit said such things would not make any difference to it.

It however, remained silent on the welfare of the hostages and also about their negotiations with the government representatives.

Earlier the outfit had told the state authorities that all the four hostages were safe.

Meanwhile, the Scotland Yard expert team, accompanied by the Director General of the National Security Guards (NSG), A.K. Tandon, arrived here to give illip1o the efforts already launched in this regard.

When contacted for comments on reports that the government might launch a rescue operation, a well-placed official source said “the government has not closed its options.”

“The government was in touch with the captors and has impressed upon them (captors) to see reason and released the hostage unharmed immediately,” he said, adding that the contact was made.

About the state of health of the hostages, he said in the absence of any adverse report, the government hopes that they (hostages) are in “good health.”

The four foreign tourists were kidnapped by AlFaran from the Pahalzam health resort in the first week of July.

Meanwhile, a Central team headed by the Special Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, V.K. Jain, who was here to assist the state government to secure the release of the hostages, Returned to New Delhi.

The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), in the meantime, has said the killing of the Norwegian hostage “affronts our society but is totally unacceptable to our social ethos.” Ina letter addressed to the UN Secretary General, Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, the APHIC chairman, Mirwaiz Mohammad Umer Farooq, last week said the game some killing of Hans Christian Ostro by some “unknown people” recently sent shock waves from one corner of Kashmir to another.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  August 25, 1995