2 Czech tourists abducted by gunmen in Pakistan in 2013 released, return home

PRAGUE – Two Czech tourists who were abducted by gunmen two years ago as they were travelling on a bus through southwestern Pakistan have been released, the Czech government said on Saturday.

“I am really glad to confirm that Hana Humpalova and Antonie Chrastecka … returned back to the Czech Republic today in the morning,” Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said in a statement.

Sobotka said their release was negotiated by Turkish non-governmental humanitarian organization IHH.

The women were on the road from Iran to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, when they were seized in March 2013. They had been given a police guard in Pakistan to escort them on a passenger bus but the policeman was no match for the eight to 10 gunmen who stopped them in Chaghi district near the Iran and Afghanistan borders, officials said. The disarmed policeman was later released.

Sobotka said he wished the women “a quick recovery and a return to a normal, quiet life.” He also asked media to respect their privacy.

He didn’t immediately give further details.

Izett Sahin of IHH said the families approached his organization two months ago to help with the negotiations, which were successfully completed on Friday and the Czechs were released the same day.

Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said psychologists and other experts treated the two after their arrival but would not disclose where they were.

“It is in the interest of us all to help them cope with the transition,” Zaoralek told the Czech public radio.

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