ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: Kidnappers of two Chinese engineers have demanded the release of some 'foreign militants' held by security forces, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao told Dawn on Sunday.

A 21-member jirga of the Jalal Khel tribe, held on Sunday to review the situation, remained inconclusive. Chief of the tribe, Abdullah, however communicated to the authorities through a messenger that the kidnapped Chinese were safe, the minister said.

Mr Sherpao indicated that the kidnappers were demanding the release of foreigners captured by security forces during an operation in the Asman Manza area a few days ago. A grand jirga will be held on Monday to put pressure on the kidnappers if it disapproved of the abduction, he added.

Tribal chief Abdullah was reluctant to take action against the kidnappers, according to the minister. "But we hope that a positive decision would be taken by the grand jirga," he said.

Two of the kidnappers were foreign nationals while others who had covered their faces might have been local tribesmen. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a press conference here that the kidnappers had demanded the release of 'two persons' and the government had asked for their profiles. He said the government had also taken 'more effective measures' to provide security to Chinese engineers working in Pakistan.