The Swiss couple held captive by the Taliban since the beginning of July last year was recovered on Thursday after they escaped from captivity. The two were taken to a military facility in Peshawar for questioning and are said to be in fair health.
According to the Army, they appeared at a military checkpost and claimed they had escaped the clutches of their kidnappers. While the Army did not offer any further details, reports from the north western parts of the country said they turned up at a checkpost in Miranshah, the main town of the North Waziristan tribal agency.
The Swiss nationals — Oliver David Och and Daniela Widmer – were abducted by gunmen on July 1 from Loralai district of Balochistan. They had travelled from India to Pakistan and were to head to Iran and Turkey from here. Nearly a month after the couple went missing, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed the Swiss nationals were in its custody.
In October last year, the Taliban demanded a ‘prisoner swap' from the U.S. and Pakistan for the release of the Swiss couple. Claiming that the couple were in their safe custody, the Taliban released two videos — one in English and another in a Swiss-German dialect — in which the two Swiss nationals pleaded for the release of Aafia Siddiqui by the U.S. and Taliban prisoners in Pakistan's custody.
“This is the announcement, a new announcement, for the Swiss Government, for Pakistan Government, and for American Government,'' Swiss national Olivier David Och said in the recording while holding up a local English newspaper dated September 15.
Further, Mr. Och said: “We are in danger here, and please let go Aafia Siddiqui from America, and also please let go the prisoners that Pakistan have from the Taliban.'' In the second video in Swiss-German, the couple was shown holding another newspaper dated September 15. Aafia Siddiqui is an American-educated Pakistani neuroscientist convicted by a U.S. court for assaulting American soldiers in Afghanistan and has been billed as ‘qaum ki beti' (daughter of the nation).
