Swiss Couple Escape From Pakistan Taliban Captivity
A Swiss couple kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban last July say they escaped, a Pakistani army spokesman said, after the two showed up at a military checkpoint on a main road in the northwest of the country on Thursday.
Pakistani media identified the pair as Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 29. They were kidnapped in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan and had been held by the Taliban in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border.
“They escaped, this is what they have told us,” Pakistan army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas told Reuters. “They reported to our checkpost then. They are being questioned at the moment in Peshawar.”
According to intelligence sources in North Waziristan, the two were found at a military checkpoint on a main road in Miranshah, the region’s main town, at about 5:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) and were then sent to the city of Peshawar by helicopter.