The South Korean hostage drama is showing no signs to plummet, instead it is growing day by day. With the Taliban militants setting another deadline, this time in the form of talks between the abductors and the South Koreans, the drama seems to be heading to a climax, with so many lives at stake.
It all began with the Taliban abducting a group of South Korean aid workers in war battered Afghanistan and demanding the release of their compatriots in exchange of the Korean hostages. While two of the hostages have already been killed, the life of the rest remains at risk, especially because of their merciless captors, who believe in a reign of terror. South Korean government is under immense pressure from the public, who are forcing the government to comply with the demands of the Taliban militants. But, the South Korean government cannot meet the demands of the Taliban, as it has no direct role to play in the crisis inspite of its citizens in the captivity of the brutal militants.
On the other hand, the Taliban is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that their militant prisoner companions come back from custody in the U.S. base at Bagram. Therefore, inspite of having killed two hostages, the Taliban demands that the UN arranges for a secure neutral venue for talks between them and the South Korean negotiators, failing it would bring the demise of the remaining hostages.
With the hostage crisis escalating in all terms, the South Koreans have demanded the U.S. to get more involved in their predicament. However, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai has denied the release of the militants fearing it would become a business of the militants to abduct people from all walks of life and demanding release of their militant brothers. The Afghan President is also right in denying the proposal, but what about those innocent South Koreans who were in Afghanistan to help the war-torn Afghanis to recuperate from their injuries.
Via: Usa Today
