May 04, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 3: The family of Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan appealed on Saturday to his kidnappers to free him and expressed frustration at the government’s failure to secure his release three months after he vanished on a border highway.

Tariq Azizuddin, his driver and bodyguard disappeared on Feb 11 as they drove from Peshawar towards the Afghan border.

In a video telecast on April 19 by an Arab satellite channel, Azizuddin said Taliban militants had kidnapped them.

In a statement, the envoy’s family said that while “some contact” had been established with Azizuddin a month after his abduction, there was no sign he would be released soon.

They didn’t elaborate on the contact, but they said they had learned that his health was deteriorating due to his confinement in “subhuman conditions.”

It remains unclear if Azizuddin is really in the hands of the Taliban and whether he has become a pawn in peace talks between the government and tribal militants.An umbrella group for Pakistani militants has denied involvement.

The family said they did not doubt the government’s persistence in seeking Azizuddin’s safe release and said they appreciated that that the case was complex.

“But what we are unable to understand is why is it taking so long with all the resources available to the authorities,” the statement said.

It said Azizuddin’s wife, siblings, children and other relatives were “in a state of anguish.”

The video, which showed Azizuddin sitting on the ground in front of three masked men holding automatic weapons, appeared on the day when his oldest son had been due to marry, the statement said.

The family made “a fervent appeal to all who are involved, the authorities and the kidnappers to please expedite their efforts” to free Azizuddin and his companions.—AP