Hostage's mother in freedom plea
The mother of an American kidnapped in Pakistan has pleaded for his freedom, describing her son as a "very gentle person" devoted to his humanitarian work.
In the family's first public appeal, Rose Solecki asked for help from the people of south-west Pakistan's Baluchistan province, where her son John was taken captive on February 2.
John Solecki was serving as the head of the UN refugee office in Quetta, and the UN is still trying to make contact with the kidnappers who have threatened to kill their captive.
The kidnapping has underlined the overall deteriorating security situation in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which is battling al Qaida and Taliban-led militants in its north-west. In her message, Mrs Solecki expressed bewilderment at her son's predicament.
"I simply do not understand why this is happening to our dear John," said 83-year-old Mrs Solecki. "I cannot begin to explain the sorrows and pain that I am going through right now. My husband and I are old. We want to be with John again. We cannot bear losing John."
The message was released through the United Nations along with a photo of Solecki and his parents.
The UN has said the matter is urgent because Solecki has a medical condition. In a 20-second clip released by his kidnappers on February 13, a blindfolded Solecki said he was "sick and in trouble".
Mrs Solecki said she and her 91-year-old husband Ralph are both archaeologists and that she had lived in Baluchistan many years before.
The kidnappers have identified themselves as the previously unknown Baluchistan Liberation United Front. The name indicates the group is more likely linked to separatists than to Islamists.
The kidnappers have demanded the release of 141 women allegedly held in Pakistan, but Pakistani officials have said no such group of women are being held.
