Pakistan: The two Swiss hostages are free

The Swiss Embassy in Islamabad was informed this morning by the Pakistani authorities of this latest development. The two Swiss citizens were taken by helicopter from the Miranshah region to Peshawar and later to Islamabad.

Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, was clearly relieved at the good news. He thanked the Pakistani authorities for their great commitment and support in this case. He wished the two Swiss and their families strength in returning to normality and in coming to terms with the burdensome experiences of the recent months.

Ever since the two hostages were kidnapped, the Swiss Embassy in Islamabad has been in regular contact with the local authorities and with its other partners in the area. The responsible authorities in Switzerland were in contact with the families of the two hostages and supported them during this difficult situation.

The FDFA had set up an interdepartmental task force which coordinated the activities of the various services responsible – the Federal Office of Police fedpol, the Federal Intelligence Service, and the cantonal police forces of Bern and Aargau. The Head of the Crisis Management Centre of the FDFA, Ambassador Christian Dussey, was in charge of this task force.

The FDFA urges people to heed the travel advisories of the Department of Foreign Affairs before travelling. Advisories have been issued for 157 countries and are updated continuously. The aim is to inform citizens about the situation in their destination country and about any important security measures. Travel advisories can be found online.


Information for the media:
The Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, and Mr Christian Dussey, Head of the FDFA Crisis Management Centre, will provide information about the outcome of the hostage affair at the Federal Media Centre at 15.30 p.m. 

Further information:

Travel advisories
Division for Security Policy and Crisis Management

Address for enquiries:

Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: +41 58 462 31 53
Fax: +41 58 464 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch

Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs