New Delhi, July 26
As the Iraq hostage crisis entered the sixth day tonight, there were signs of delicate and result-oriented negotiations going on with the abductors of seven truckers, three of them Indians, and the threat to the captives’ lives appeared to have receded.

The Ministry of External Affairs maintained that negotiations with the kidnappers were in progress and the three Indians were safe and unharmed. MEA spokesman Navtej Sarna also conceded that the abductors’ deadline was “open-ended”, implying that the original threat of the abductors to behead one captive every 72 hours no longer loomed over the hostages’ heads.

It is understood that the negotiations with the kidnappers got stuck in a groove in the last 24 hours because the abductors jacked up their demands, not only in monetary terms but also politically.

KGL, the Kuwaiti company, which employs the abducted truck drivers and has established a direct contact with the kidnappers, is believed to have offered its own package for securing the release of the hostages.

Also, the kidnappers are believed to have conveyed their strong resentment to the Government of India, via a third party, about a feared commando raid from Indian security agencies to free the hostages.

This anger of the kidnappers — the little-known “Islamic Secret Army, Black Banners Brigades” — is reflected in a terse statement issued by them, listing three demands. The Black Banners’ statement is as follows:

“In response to an appeal from Sheikh Hisham al-Dulayami, head of the Society of Detainees in American Prisons, the Higher Command of the Islamic Secret Army decided: First, to extend the deadline to complete negotiations with the parties concerned. Second, to affirm the call for the withdrawal of the Kuwaiti company because of its cooperation with the occupier. Third, to warn the Indian government against irresponsible attack on Mujahideen in order to protect its citizens’ lives.”

The last sentence is in direct response to the abductors’ perception that the Indian government was probably toying with the idea of a commando-response to deal with the hostages situation.

Senior officials in the Government of India totally denied that any commando operation was being considered and described reports to this effect as “baseless”.

It is believed here that Sheikh Hisham al-Dulayami, whose name is specifically mentioned in Black Banners’ statement, has donned the role of chief negotiator for the hostages. Earlier, the Al-Arabiya satellite TV channel had aired a statement on behalf of Black Banners in which the outfit said it had appointed Sheikh Hisham al-Dulayami to negotiate with the embassies of the hostages and KGL.

PTI adds from Dubai: ‘Black Banners Brigade’, another armed outfit, seized two Pakistanis and an Iraqi driver employed by another Kuwaiti company.

It said the Pakistanis would be executed as it claimed that President Pervez Musharraf is contemplating sending troops to Iraq.

Islamabad: Urging the kidnappers of the two Pakistanis in Iraq to release them in the name of Islam, Pakistan said it had not taken any decision to send its troops to Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations (UN).

“Pakistan has not taken any decision to contribute peacekeeping troops to Iraq under the auspices of the UN,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said in an appeal read out over the state television, PTV on Monday.