FOXNews.com - Taliban Says It Released 2 Reporters

Taliban Says It Released 2 Reporters

Sunday, November 26, 2006

By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press Writer

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Taliban has released two Pakistani journalists who were detained for several days in southern Afghanistan after entering Taliban-controlled territory without permission, a purported spokesman for the Islamic militia said Sunday.

Syed Saleem Shahzad, from The Star newspaper in the southern city of Karachi, and Qamar Yousafzai, a reporter for various newspapers in southwestern Quetta, were last heard from in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Nov. 19.

Mohammed Hanif, a purported Taliban spokesman, said in an Pashtu language e-mail sent to The Associated Press that they were released Sunday morning. The men were released on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Helmand, Hanif later told the AP by phone.

"They had been kept for two or three days as guests," Hanif said. "Journalists must contact Mujahedeen before entering their areas so their safety is ensured."

The Taliban announced Saturday that the two men had been detained and said they were safe and would be released Sunday morning. The Star reported the same day that they had been kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province on Nov. 21.

Shahzad's wife said Saturday her husband had called her by satellite telephone, saying the Taliban were accusing him and Yousafzai of spying and would try them in a Taliban court.

Faiza Ilyas, news editor of The Star, said Shahzad was not on assignment for the newspaper in Afghanistan.

Shahzad is known for writing about the war on terror, Iraq, al-Qaida and Afghanistan, The Star said. Yousafzai has worked for several media outlets, including as a reporter for the Urdu-language Baakhabar daily in Quetta, said that newspaper's editor, Shah Ghasi.

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Associated Press Writer Noor Khan in Kandahar, Afghanistan contributed to this report.