Govt: Kidnapped Pakistan envoy freed

Tariq Azizuddin disappeared Feb. 11 along with his driver and bodyguard as they drove from the Pakistani city of Peshawar toward the border.

In a video aired April 19 on an Arab satellite channel, Azizuddin said Taliban militants had abducted them.

His brother, Tahir Azizuddin, told The Associated Press that authorities informed the family on Saturday the ambassador had been released, was in good health and would be home soon.

The diplomat was returning from "somewhere in the tribal areas where the authorities have a base or something where he has been handed over," Tahir Azizuddin said. He said he did not know how authorities had secured the release.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq confirmed that the ambassador was free, but declined to provide any details.

It was unclear whether Azizuddin had become a pawn in peace talks between Pakistan's new civilian government and militant groups operating throughout the lawless tribal belt along the border.

The talks this week produced an exchange of prisoners, including dozens of suspected militants and two army officers, in Waziristan, a tribal area considered a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaida militants.

Pakistan's Western backers are urging the government to ensure that any peace agreements include provisions to prevent militants from using Pakistani territory as a base for raids in Afghanistan or to plot terrorist strikes in Europe and North America.

Earlier this month, Azizuddin's family appealed to his kidnappers to release him from "subhuman conditions" which were affecting his health. A family statement expressed understanding that the case was complex, but also frustration at the delay in securing his release.