OTTAWA, Feb 23: A videotape has surfaced in which a Canadian journalist kidnapped in Pakistan’s northern tribal region tells of her continuing ordeal, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Monday.

Journalist Beverly Giesbrecht, 52, also known as Khadija Abdul Qahaar, was kidnapped at gunpoint in November of last year while travelling in the Bannu district, which borders Afghanistan.

She was reportedly gathering materials at the time for a documentary for her website, which offers alternative news on the Islamic world.

In the four-minute-and-43-second video, Giesbrecht says she was kidnapped by the Taliban on her second trip to the region to meet a man with a rare coin collection whom she wished to interview.

“I have been in captivity now for almost three months,” she said.

“I wake up in the dark and I go to sleep in the dark. There is nothing but a wood furnace and not enough wood.

“I am not sure exactly my location. I am someplace in the Afghan border area. There are air raids ... This is the war zone.”

Canadian officials would not comment on the videotape, but foreign affairs spokeswoman Lisa Monette told AFP: “We are making every effort to obtain Ms Giesbrecht’s freedom.” —AFP