950812

Plea to free

Western hostages'

2n the name

of Allah

SRINAGAR: Relatives of five Western hostages have appealed to Kashmiri militants "in the name of Allah" for the release of the tourists, now in their second month of captivity.

"In the name of Allah the most merciful, the most gracious, in whom we and you too trust, we make a compassionate appeal to you for the unconditional release of these five innocent and faultless men," the hostages' relatives said.

"It would be showing great regard for the great values of the faith and you would also be telling the world that humanity is still alive," they said.

The appeal, written in Urdu, was being placed as an advertisement in Kashmiri newspapers on Sunday and distributed to news organisations in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir state.

The hostages' families have made regular public appeals to Al-Faran militants since they abducted Norwegian Hans Ostro, German Kirk Hasert, American Donald Hutchings and Britons Paul Wells and Keith Mangan in early July while they were trekking in the Himalayan region.

Some family members have been keeping vigil in the Indian capital New Delhi but have been shielded from the press and the public by their embassies.

Al-Faran has said two of the hostages were wounded in a clash between the guerrillas and the Indian army, and one was in critical condition. Last week the militants released photographs and a tape recording which suggested Hutchings and Mangan had been wounded by gunfire.

The state government has denied any clash, but said two of the hostages were apparently wounded by their captors while trying to escape.

"We are very anxious over the reports that Don and Keith have been seriously injured," the advertisement said. "You will not gain anything by these tourists' being in trouble or by our being in distress."

The hostages' relatives said neither they nor the captives were involved in politics.

"We had come to Kashmir only as tourists and we all are now to a great extent aware of the problems and troubles with which the people of Kashmir are faced," they said, referring to a five-year-old separatist rebellion against Indian rule in which more than 20,000 people have died.

"But we are not in a position to help to resolve the extraordinary problems existing here. We are ordinary human beings. We can only show our sympathies for the Kashmiris who are caught amid great difficulties and troubles. We can only pray before the Almighty to shower mercy on them," they said.

"In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most gracious, we appeal to you to take pity on us and release our dear ones without further delay," they said.-Reuter