Militants flee after releasing child hostages

HEAVILY armed Islamic militants took more than 300 children hostage at a school in north-west Pakistan yesterday but freed them after tense negotiations with tribal elders, officials said.

Seven rebels equipped with rocket launchers and dynamite holed up at the primary school in the remote village of Domail after a failed attempt to abduct a local official that left one of their men dead, they said.

The insurgents threatened to blow up the children if they were not given safe passage, but eventually released them and fled towards Pakistan’s troubled tribal area bordering Afghanistan, tribal negotiators said.

“They have surrendered themselves to the local jirga (tribal council) along with their weapons and released the children,” said state spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema after the seven-hour drama ended.

The incident comes amid a tide of extremist violence in Pakistan, especially in the tribal belt, that has raised fears for the country’s stability ahead of key elections on February 18.

In London, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told reporters after talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that the incident vindicated his efforts to clamp down on Islamic extremism.

Mr Musharraf said the hostage-taking was “a desperate act, maybe to take away attention from the military operation outside”.

“I think we will keep going strong on the side of acting against the terrorists,” he said.

But a member of the negotiating team said they were forced to let the seven hostage-takers go to keep the children, who were mostly aged eight to 12, alive.

“They were armed with dynamite, hand grenades, Kalashnikov rifles and other explosive material. They took 315 schoolchildren and 10 teachers hostage,” said tribal elder Shah Abdul Aziz.

“When the team of tribal elders entered the school the children were crying. They were hungry.

“Some had fainted due to fear. It was a very painful scene.

“During negotiations they repeatedly warned they would kill the children and blow up themselves if they were not allowed safe passage.

“Since the children’s lives were more precious, the tribal elders decided to give the men safe passage.

“We had no other option.”

He said weeping parents had hugged and kissed their children after they were freed.

Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz described the hostage-takers as “terrorists”, while police said they were Islamic extremists.