ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said the reported beheading of the kidnapped Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak was yet to be verified, but if the reports were correct, the barbaric act should be condemned in strongest possible terms.

“Officially, the ministry of interior is yet to verify this tragic incident, but if this is correct, it is a very tragic event,” the minister said at a press conference.

He said if the beheading was verified, he would like to offer condolences to the people and the government of Poland and to the geologist’s family. “If this news is correct I would condemn it in strongest possible terms.”

Poland has confirmed as authentic the video of the execution of the geologist released on Sunday.

Poland’s Senate cancelled a visit by a delegation of Pakistani senators, who were due in Warsaw on Feb 12. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has called for a full disclosure of the circumstances surrounding the geologist’s killing, including an explanation by Islamabad about failed negotiations.—Staff Reporter