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Alert

Canadian web-publisher, two Pakistani colleagues kidnapped in tribal areas

(PPF/IFEX) - Khadija Abdul Qahar, a Canadian publisher of a web magazine, and two of her Pakistani colleagues were kidnapped on 11 November 2008 in the tribal areas of Pakistan where she was gathering material for a documentary.

According to press reports, Qahar was travelling in a taxi to the town of Miramshah, in the North Waziristan tribal area that borders Afghanistan, when unidentified armed men kidnapped her along with her translator and guide. The taxi driver managed to escape from the scene.

Police are searching the area for the journalist and her colleagues. Qahar, who was previously known as Beverly Giesbrecht, had embraced Islam after the 9/11 attacks on the United States and called herself a supporter of the Taliban. Her website, http://www.jihadunspun.com , features comments and reports on Pakistan's tribal areas.

The political administration in the Bannu frontier region is negotiating with elders of the local Janikhel tribe for the release of the abducted journalist and her colleagues.