Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Peshawar (Agenzia Fides) - Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 29, two Swiss citizens kidnapped in Baluchistan in July 2011 by Taliban groups, have been released, and are now safe in Peshawar. This was reported by the Pakistani police, announcing that the two are in good health.
The news rekindled the spotlight on the many foreign nationals kidnapped in the country and still in the hands of Taliban groups. Paul Bhatti, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for religious Harmony, says to Fides: "It is good news, we know that the government and police forces are working hard to combat the scourge of kidnapping, organized by criminals or terrorists groups. I can say that according to my information, there are good hopes for the release of other aid workers, as the Italian Giovanni Lo Porto and the German Bernd Johannes, of the NGO "Welthungerhilfe". We hope to soon be able to give good news to their families".
Bhatti notes: "Pakistan is fighting terrorism, but we ask aid workers and foreign nationals to enter the country with caution, following the recommendation of the embassies. Aid workers are welcome and their work is commendable, but it can become a special target for anti-Western fanatics, or to be kidnapped for ransom. It is a good thing to pay the utmost attention primarily on what areas of the country to go to".(PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/3/2012)
