UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday expressed grave concern about the two recent abduction cases involving South Koreans and Germans in Afghanistan.
"He called on the Afghan government to do its utmost to secure an early release of the abductees," Ban's press office said in a statement.
The secretary-general had a telephone conversation with Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier on Saturday and asked the president "to be personally engaged so as to achieve a prompt resolution," the statement said.
"President Karzai expressed profound concern, adding he was directly engaged in attempts to resolve the incidents as soon as possible," it said. "The Afghan government had established a Task Force of intergovernmental experts to address the issue."
developments through the latter's special representative in Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, it added.
Taliban threatened to kill 23 South Koreans kidnapped on a road in the central Ghazni province Thursday afternoon if Afghan authorities fail to release 23 Taliban prisoners before a Sunday deadline.
Meanwhile, two Germans were abducted together with five Afghans in the central Wardak province on Wednesday. One hostage had been confirmed dead.
Source: Xinhua
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