Pakistan: Video of kidnapped journalist released

A video released last week demands a Taliban leader be set free in exchange for the safety of Asad Qureshi, a British journalist ,and two retired ISI officers. The missing men left for the North Waziristan region at the end of March. A second video featuring one of the captured the ex-ISI officers, Colonel Khalid Khawaja, was also sent to Asia Times Online. In it, Khawaja details his involvement in negotiations between militants and the army, as well as his part in the arrest of Muhammad Abdul Aziz during the Siege of Lal Masjid in 2007.

British filmakers missing in Pakistan

A British filmmaker is missing in Northern Waziristan, Asad Qureshi is one of the group of men who have vanished in the mountainous tribal region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. On 26 March, two former ISI agents set off with Qureshi and another British filmmaker to conduct interviews with Taliban leaders. No other reports have surfaced regarding their whereabouts but a Pakistani army spokesperson has confirmed that they have not been detained by any intelligence agencies.