Taliban take 156 Pak soldiers hostage

NEW DELHI: A much graver crisis threatens Pakistan than the decision on Musharraf’s uniform with 156 Pakistani soldiers being taken hostage by Taliban militants in the Wana area in north-western Pakistan.

According to Pakistani media reports, the soldiers and officers “surrendered without firing a shot”, in a development that underscores the growing strength of the Taliban militants and their new-found willingness to turn the tables on their mentors if the latter sought to hinder their agenda.

Included in the list of hostages are at least 10 Pakistan army officers — “a colonel, three majors and some captains”. According to a tribal elder quoted in the Pakistani press, 20 “militants” captured over 200 (that’s their figure) soldiers (129 of them armed) and officers who “surrendered”.

They have been disarmed and split into small groups. A meeting, jirga in local parlance, between parliamentarians and tribal leaders is on to secure the release of the soldiers.

Islamabad had initially sought to cover up the embarrassment of the capture of its troops by saying that bad weather had trapped the soldiers, but weather reports for the area in NWFP where the soldiers were captured showed clear days. The government’s version has been disputed by locals.