PESHAWAR, Pakistan — An American professor held hostage by militants is significantly sick and requires instant remedy, a senior member of the Afghan Taliban instructed NBC Information on Monday.
Kevin King was kidnapped at gunpoint from the American College of Afghanistan in Kabul alongside Australian colleague Timothy Weeks in August 2016.
A Taliban commander, who requested for anonymity as he was not permitted to talk to the media, described the 61-year-old King as being in “severe situation” as a result of his coronary heart illness and mentioned he urgently requires hospitalization. Nevertheless, the militants have been unable to rearrange that.
“No matter we might do, we did to avoid wasting his life but it surely’s past our capability and sources to offer him the standard of care he wants,” the militant added.
In line with the Taliban commander, King’s well being has deteriorated in current weeks regardless of the very fact the group had organized remedy and obtained medication for him.
He added that the militants “shouldn’t be held accountable” if King had been to die.
King and Weeks are each believed to be held by the Haqqani community, a gaggle which is linked to the Afghan Taliban.
The Haqqani community was additionally answerable for the 2012 kidnapping of the U.S.-Canadian couple Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle in Afghanistan. The pair and their three kids, who had been born whereas they had been held hostage, had been launched earlier this month in an operation involving Pakistan’s navy.
Boyle, who instructed reporters that they had been in Afghanistan to badist villagers residing beneath Taliban rule, accused the Haqqani community of “the stupidity and evil of authorizing the homicide of my toddler daughter” throughout their five-year ordeal. He additionally mentioned his spouse was raped by a guard.
Members of the Haqqani community and the Afghan Taliban denied Boyle’s allegations.
The Haqqani community, whose chief is the deputy head of the Afghan Taliban, additionally held Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for 5 years. The Afghan Taliban obtained 5 prime commanders in alternate for the U.S. soldier in 2014 in a take care of the U.S. that was brokered by Qatar.
Because of their wealth and deep hyperlinks to native tribes, one Western diplomat as soon as dubbed the Haqqanis “the Kennedys of the Taliban motion.”
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The Afghan Taliban mentioned it issued the replace on King’s situation within the occasion the U.S. or his household wished to barter his launch.
“If America wished to avoid wasting Kevin’s life, they need to make preparations for his instant launch,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid mentioned. “In the meanwhile he’s alive however could die if not offered higher care.”
The Haqqanis waged warfare on NATO forces in Afghanistan and have been blamed for lots of the greater than 2,000 U.S. navy deaths there.
The U.S. has lengthy criticized Pakistan for not aggressively going after the Haqqani community. Pakistan rejects accusations that it shelters the militants.
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