Militants kidnap persons considered important and sooner or later release videos of the hostages in which families and governments are asked to seek their release by accepting the kidnappers’ demands.

Those kidnapped look miserable, but are unable to say much about their circumstances. Sometimes, militants covering their faces stand guard holding guns as the hostage records the statement. It is obvious that such videos are aimed at pressuring the victims’ families and governments to accept the kidnappers’ demands.

With the rise of militancy, the kidnapping business has flourished in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is lucrative and irresistible for gangs that thrive in lawless places. Professional kidnappers often join hands with militants to kidnap high-profile individuals for a hefty fee. Demands ranging from release of prisoners to payment of ransom are made in return for freedom for the kidnapped persons. In most cases, ransom is paid to secure release of those kidnapped.

Over the years, the victims’ families too have started recording videos to directly address the kidnappers-cum-militants for seeking release of their loves ones. Appeals are made and mercy is sought in the hope that the kidnappers would listen to the pleas of anguished parents, wives, brothers and children. There is no instance that such appeals have melted the hearts of the kidnappers and prompted them to release hostages without getting their demands accepted.

The latest such video was recently released by a Canadian couple, Patrick Boyle and Linda Boyle. They recorded the video message in English with Urdu and Pashto sub-titles to launch the appeal in the hope that their eldest son, Joshua Boyle and his wife Caitlan Coleman and their two children born in captivity would be finally freed on humanitarian grounds. They timed the release of their appeal in the last days of Ramazan and on the eve of Eidul Fitr as they believed this was the best time to seek mercy from the fasting Muslims.

Joshua Boyle, a 33-year old Canadian, and his 31-year old American wife Caitlan Coleman, were kidnapped from the Wardak-Kabul road in October 2012. They were reportedly on a backpacking trip. Their choice to do tourism in conflict-hit Afghanistan came as a surprise as it carried grave risk.

Later, it emerged that the couple was in the custody of the Haqqani network, which is part of the Afghan Taliban movement and is headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani. In recent years, Haqqani has also been working as the deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban group.

A few videos of the kidnapped couple and their two sons, both born in captivity, were released earlier as a means to put pressure on their families and the governments of Canada and the US to accept the Haqqani network’s demands in return for their release. Though the demands weren’t made public, these have been conveyed to the families and the Canadian and American governments through intermediaries.

The Haqqani network earlier demanded release of their 10 prisoners, all held in Afghanistan, but it was learnt the list has been reduced to eight. Three of these prisoners are very important for the Haqqani network and it seems they won’t release the hostages unless they were freed. One is Anas Haqqani, the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani and son of noted Afghan mujahideen commander Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani who was arrested by US officials in Bahrain after returning from a visit to Qatar. He was later handed over to the Afghan government and sentenced to death by an Afghan court. President Ashraf Ghani’s government hasn’t executed him yet despite demands by certain political groups in Afghanistan. In case he is executed, the Haqqani network is expected to strike back. In such a situation, the fate of several hostages, including Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, would become uncertain.

The other precious prisoner for the Haqqani network is Qari Rasheed, who had accompanied Anas Haqqani on the trip to Qatar and was captured by the Americans in Bahrain. The third prisoner is Haji Mali Khan, a maternal uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani who has been in custody of the Afghan government for the last many years.

In their appeal, Patrick Boyle and Linda mentioned the case of Sirajuddin Haqqani’s brother Anas Haqqani without naming him. They pointed out that their family was asked to do everything that it could to influence the Afghan government’s policy to stop the execution of his brother. They claimed to have written to several senior government officials in Afghanistan and pushed hard on the Canadian and US governments to persuade the Afghan government not to uphold or approve the death sentences.

In the video appeal, Patrick Boyle is heard saying to the Haqqani network leadership that though they are an ordinary family their efforts achieved some success as the death sentence of their family members in custody of the Afghan government wasn’t carried out and they were still alive.

Linking the fate of the two families to each other, the Boyle family appealed to the Haqqanis to return the favour and show mercy on them by releasing Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman and their two children as they were innocent civilians and never had any government or military ties. It argued that the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan can follow the tradition of other governments of Muslim nations and release prisoners on the occasion of Eid as an act of kindness, charity and mercy in the spirit of Ramazan.

The appeal and Ramazan and Eid greetings were addressed to the Taliban supreme leader Mulla Haibatullah Akhundzada and Sirajuddin Haqqani. The appeal noted that the Boyle family recognized the many wrongs suffered by the people of Afghanistan, but holding its members hostage would not remedy those wrongs.

Patrick Boyle and Linda Boyle also spoke in the video to their son and daughter-in-law, praising their strength and asking them not to despair and never give up.

There has been no response yet by the Haqqani network or the Afghan Taliban to this appeal. However, sources close to the Haqqanis made it clear that the couple and their two children in their custody won’t be freed unless Anas Haqqani, Haji Mali Khan, Qari Rasheed and other of their men were released. For five long years, the Haqqanis have been holding the four hostages and caring for their every need in the hope that they could be swapped for their men being held by the Afghan government and the US forces in Afghanistan.

These aren’t the only Westerners in the custody of the Haqqani network. It is also holding two teachers of the American University of Afghanistan for the last 11 months. Kevin King, a 60-year old US national, and Timothy John Weeks, an Australian aged 48, were kidnapped from Kabul on August 7 last year. They have recorded videos seeking help from their respective governments for their release. In the latest video released on June 16, they asked US President Donald Trump and the Australian Prime Minister to hold talks with the Taliban for their release in exchange for Taliban prisoners being held at the Bagram and Pule Charkhi prisons.

As both sides have adopted rigid positions on the issue, it appears that more such videos would be released in the months ahead. Messages would be passed on through the videos while negotiations to strike a deal are likely to be conducted through secret channels.