24 December 2004	Friday	11 Ziqa'ad 1425

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PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Authorities have turned down an offer to surrender from a former Guantanamo Bay inmate who is wanted for the kidnap of two Chinese engineers, a senior official said Thursday.

Militant commander Abdullah Mahsud had made only a conditional offer to give himself up, said Mehmood Shah, security chief for tribal areas on the Afghan border. "Our terms for his surrender are that he should hand himself over to the authorities without any preconditions," Mr Mehmood told AFP in Peshawar.

"We will agree to his surrender offer only when he sets no conditions." Pakistan last week offered Rs5 million for information leading to the capture of the former Taliban fighter. He is wanted for kidnapping two Chinese engineers and for leading an uprising against troops.

According to the security chief, Mahsud had said in his offer that he "must be forgiven" for his past actions before he laid down arms but it was unacceptable to the authorities.

Mr Mehmood said they might agree to a surrender offer from another militant from the same tribe, Baitullah Mahsud, although he had said he wanted to surrender along with Abdullah. Abdullah Mahsud filled the shoes of tribal leader Nek Mohammad, killed in June in a precision missile strike. -AFP