Taliban optimistic on hostage deal

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Saturday (Reuters) - Talks between Afghanistan's Taliban and South Korean diplomats over 21 Korean hostages were going well today and the Taliban expect to free their captives, Taliban negotiators said. “We assure you (the media) and the whole world that all of the Koreans will be released and will go to their homes,” said Mawlavi Nasrullah, one of the two Taliban negotiators.

“And our prisoners will come to their homes,” he told reporters in Ghazni town where the Taliban and Korean diplomats have been holding face-to-face talks since late Friday. The second Taliban negotiator, Qari Bashir, said: “We are very hopeful that this issue will be resolved today or tomorrow inshallah (God willing).” Bashir also said the hostages were fine and happy.

No Korean diplomat could be reached for comment. It is not clear what, if any, authority the Korean negotiators have to arrange for Taliban prisoners to be exchanged for the Koreans being held, which has been a consistent demand of the Taliban. The Koreans, from a Christian volunteer group, were kidnapped from a bus in the Ghazni area more than three weeks ago. Earlier on Saturday, Ghazni's governor, Merajuddin Pattan, said a second day of direct talks was underway,“The negotiation is still going on. We haven't reached any results,” Pattan said.

The Taliban have already killed two male hostages and threatened to kill more among the remaining 21, 18 of them women, if Taliban prisoners were not released in exchange. The South Korean government is under intense domestic pressure to secure the safe release of the hostages, but has no power on its own to grant the kidnappers' demand for a swap.

Afghanistan's authorities and allies like the United States fear releasing Taliban prisoners in exchange for the Koreans would encourage more such kidnappings. For that reason Afghan officials have previously ruled out any prisoner swap and have threatened to free the hostages by force if necessary.

Pattan is sitting in on the talks, held at a Red Crescent building in the city of Ghazni where the Afghan government has guaranteed the safety of the Taliban negotiators.“I don't think it is going to finish today, it might be finalised tomorrow,” he told Reuters as he was about to enter the talks, but declined to give any further details.

The South Korean government earlier confirmed its first face-face-talks with the Taliban on Friday night, but would release no details of the discussion.The Taliban have split the hostages into small groups and said any use of force to free them would put their lives at risk. (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL)