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Captors of Chinese engineers linked to al-Qaeda: Pak minister

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Oct 10, IRNA -- The captors who kidnapped two Chinese 
engineers in Pakistan`s semi-autonomous tribal region may have links 
with al-Qaeda, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said on 
Sunday. 
The Chinese engineers, along with a Pakistani guard, were 
abducted by five gunment near Jandala in Pakistan`s South Waziristan, 
bordering Afghanistan. 
The Chinese hostages, Wang Ende and Wang Peng, were working on a 
water dam and a canal in the tribal area for China National Water 
Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group Corporation. 
"There is definitely a link between the captors and al-Qaeda. Two 
of the captors are foreigners and they may belong to Central Asia. 
There is information that two belong to Kandahar in Afghanistan," 
Sherpao told private Geo television. 
"I am sure that the Chinese engineers, their guard and driver are 
safe and are in the control of a local tribe Jalal Khel tribe," he 
said, adding that the kidnappers are also in the custody of the 
tribe. 
He said a 21-member jirga or council is holding talks with the 
ribe. Member of the National Assembly from the tribal region, Maulana 
Mirajuddin, is also member of the jirga. 
He said the captors have links with those who are the target of an 
operation in the area of Mehsood tribe, adding that demands of the 
captors would be clear after the jirga end negotiations. 
"The government will look into the demands whether or not they 
are acceptable," the official said. 
A senior Police officer Habibur Rehman said the Chinese were in 
one of the five vehicles that left Dera Ismail Khan Saturday morning 
for the Gomalzam dam project in South Waziristan. 
The vehicle in which the two Chinese were traveling went missing 
and was later found abandoned by a search team. 
Pakistan army has been engaged in operation to flush out hundreds 
of Al-Qaeda linked militants from South Waziristan since last year. 
TK/TSH/2323/1412