PARIS, Feb 6: Michel Peyrard, the Paris Match reporter who was kidnapped last Fall by the Taliban, and released following the personal intervention of President Jacques Chirac, has addressed a message to the kidnappers of Daniel Pearl, like him a resident of France, although a US citizen, telling them that “You know that he is not in any way responsible for the policies of his country, the United States. Release him and you will be ennobled.”

On the eve of Mr Pearl’s second week of captivity, Mr Peyrard, who was himself held for almost a month by the Taliban, recounts to Daniel Pearl’s kidnappers that “On Oct 9, 2001, I was arrested in Goshta, Nangarhar province, while trying to enter Afghanistan. I was handed over to the Taliban secret police (Istikhbarat). For 26 days, I was held at Station No. 3 (Drema Hoza) in Jalalabad. Even though this was a difficult period, the Taliban authorities acknowledged my status as a journalist.”

“Daniel Pearl is a journalist,” continues Mr Peyrard. Moreover, he is an excellent journalist, very respected in our profession. He is a journalist first, and an American second. He could be Pakistani or Kabuli, and he would still be a journalist above all.”

“What the Istikhbarat acknowledged in a difficult situation — war — is something you, too, should acknowledge. I’m sure you have understood this, by being with Daniel. You know that he is not in any way responsible for his country’s policies. By releasing him you will be ennobled. And so will Islam, a religion of compassion.”