A Chinese man kidnapped while cycling through Pakistan in May previous year has been freed by the security forces, the Pakistani government has said.
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“He was handed over to us late last night …”
He said the Chinese officials had been concerned about their national.
It says that Hong Xudong was released following an intelligence operation and is now in the hands of the government. “Whenever they would visit here, from their president to prime minister, their minister and their ambassador would talk about this Chinese tourist, the Chinese cyclist”, Khan said.
Mr Khan did not identify the Chinese national and did not provide details on the rescue. There were also unverified reports and a video earlier this year showing that Hong was in the custody of the Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are seeking to set up an Islamic state in their own country, are separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban insurgents who were driven from power in Kabul by a US-led military intervention in 2001.
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the abduction a year ago. China in April announced it would invest $46 billion in infrastructure, energy and transport projects as part of an ambitious project dubbed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
