KABUL: The Afghan Taliban said yesterday it had freed a Russian helicopter pilot captured in eastern Logar province in April 2013 because he had fallen seriously ill.
Pavel Petrinko was seized along with at least one Afghan citizen and eight Turkish engineers working for a construction company after the helicopter made an emergency landing in the province, which is partly controlled by the militant group.
The Turkish passengers were freed soon after the incident.
“Petrinko, who had recently become seriously ill, was released by the Islamic Emirate due to health reasons and after reaching an understanding with the concerned country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement on Friday.
“(He was released) after taking an oath that he shall never work with the Kabul regime in Afghanistan under any pretext but shall immediately leave for his country.”
Mujahid said a similar promise not to fight the Taliban had been made by the Afghan prisoner, who was also released with the Russian pilot on Wednesday.
Fresh offensive in tribal areas displaces thousands
PESHAWAR: More than 150,000 people have fled from northwest Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas as the military launched a fresh offensive against Taliban militants, officials said yesterday.
Pakistan launched an operation in Khyber agency in October against militants who had taken a sanctuary there after fleeing Taliban strongholds in North Waziristan where military started a large-scale operation against them in mid-June.
“Since October 13, 171,559 people have moved from Khyber to Peshawar and Kohat,” tribal disaster management department spokesman Haseeb Khan said, referring to two cities that border the tribal region.
Khan said that a few of the displaced people had chosen to stay at government-run camps while most of them were staying with relatives.
At least 800,000 people fled flighting in North Waziristan when the army began their offensive against militants in June.
The displaced poured into nearby towns where they faced overcrowding, a lack of food rations and high rents.
Separately, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mehtab Ahmed Khan said that some 36,000 families who had fled to Afghanistan during the army operation, had return to Pakistan.
Agencies
