Pak Taliban beheads Polish engineer; releases video

Peshawar, Feb 9: In a gruesome incident, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) beheaded a Polish geologist and warned other kidnapped foreign nationals will face the same fate it TTP's demands are not met. TTP has released a videotape showing the beheading of Polish geologist Poitr Stancza.

The seven-minutes long video shows Stancza blindfolded making an appeal to the Polish government to not send troops to Afghanistan. The geologist asked the Polish government to sever diplomatic relations with Pakistan if it did not try to seek his release

The Dawn newspaper reported that the video also include a warning statement by Taliban, claiming they had other foreign nationals in their custody. These include a Chinese national, whom Taliban said would behead if the Pakistan government did not accept their demands. The TTP said on Saturday, Feb 7 that they had killed Stancza because the government had refused to free 60 detained militants.

Sources said that earlier a Taliban spokesperson in Darra Adamkhel refused to hand over the body of the slain engineer unless the government accepted their demands. A Taliban spokesman said the Taliban would swap the body of the engineer with 'our men in government's custody'.

Stancza was kidnapped in Sep 2008 when he was on a visit to his company's site in Attock. The spokesman, who identified himself only as Mohammad, said the government had underestimated their strength and offered Rs 100 million for unconditional release of Stancza, but accepting money would be tantamount to betraying 'our fighters'.

The spokesman also took over the responsibility for Saturday, Feb 7 attack on a security checkpost in Mianwali. "Our leaders have formally allowed our volunteers to carry out attacks in Punjab, which they have been planning for two years," he said.

He also claimed the responsibility for a suicide attack on a procession of Shia mourners in Dera Ghazi Khan and warned of more such attacks in Punjab near future.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)