10-12-2007, 02:32 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Â <b>Army fumes at BBC interview of abducted soldiers</b>
PESHAWAR: The chief military spokesman has reacted angrily to a BBC report in which three army officers held hostage by the Taliban in South Waziristan were interviewed. âThis is an attempt to carry out propaganda,â Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times on Thursday after militants led by Baitullah Mehsud allowed the BBC access to the three officers for the first time since they and some <b>250 other soldiers </b>were abducted on August 30. BBC reporter Haroon Rashid wrote that the officers<b> âdid not want to talk but were pressurised by the Taliban to do soâ. Gen Arshad warned Pakistani journalists against âbecoming spokesmen of militants</b>â. He said the Taliban wanted to use the interview as a propaganda tool to press the government to meet the militantsâ demands for the soldiersâ release. <b>Commanding officer Lt-Col Zafar, Major Ateeq Azam and Lieutenant Farakh Mansoor were the three officers the BBC interviewed</b>. Maj Ateeq said he hoped the military command would do something for their release. Col Zafar said he was leading a convoy taking rations to soldiers in Ladah from Shakai when tribesmen stopped the convoy. âWe were not going for a military operation,â he added. A spokesman for Baitullah said the government is showing little urgency in securing the release of the captured soldiers. iqbal khattak
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Proud Paki Army had done these type of interviews in 1971, Kargi and now. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
This is a big catch. Last I read that these 250 claim is bogus only 30 brave Army soldiers were abducted, now we are back to 250.
PESHAWAR: The chief military spokesman has reacted angrily to a BBC report in which three army officers held hostage by the Taliban in South Waziristan were interviewed. âThis is an attempt to carry out propaganda,â Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad told Daily Times on Thursday after militants led by Baitullah Mehsud allowed the BBC access to the three officers for the first time since they and some <b>250 other soldiers </b>were abducted on August 30. BBC reporter Haroon Rashid wrote that the officers<b> âdid not want to talk but were pressurised by the Taliban to do soâ. Gen Arshad warned Pakistani journalists against âbecoming spokesmen of militants</b>â. He said the Taliban wanted to use the interview as a propaganda tool to press the government to meet the militantsâ demands for the soldiersâ release. <b>Commanding officer Lt-Col Zafar, Major Ateeq Azam and Lieutenant Farakh Mansoor were the three officers the BBC interviewed</b>. Maj Ateeq said he hoped the military command would do something for their release. Col Zafar said he was leading a convoy taking rations to soldiers in Ladah from Shakai when tribesmen stopped the convoy. âWe were not going for a military operation,â he added. A spokesman for Baitullah said the government is showing little urgency in securing the release of the captured soldiers. iqbal khattak
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Proud Paki Army had done these type of interviews in 1971, Kargi and now. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> This is a big catch. Last I read that these 250 claim is bogus only 30 brave Army soldiers were abducted, now we are back to 250.