Pakistan
Filmmaker disappears after interview with Taliban leadershipPosted Apr 26 2010
A British documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist disappeared March 26 on his way to North Wazirstan after interviewing Taliban leadership in the tribal areas of Northwest Frontier Province in Pakistan. Two retired Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) officers, Sultan Amir Tarar, known as Col. Imam, and Sq. Leader Khalid Khawaja, were also taken, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
No group has claimed responsibility for the disappearance of the three men.
At the time of the disappearance, Asad Qureshi, a British citizen of Pakistani descent, was making a documentary about the Taliban and Al-Qaeda with the ISI officers’ assistance. Col. Imam was trained in Fort Bragg, N.C., under the Special Forces in 1974 and has financed and supported the Taliban for years. According to The Guardian, both Col. Imam and Khawaja assisted the mujahideen in defending against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
In the last two years, 14 journalists have been killed in Pakistan, seven of them in the Northwest Frontier Province, which makes it one of the most dangerous places for journalists, according to IPI.