Missing Pakistani Official Held by Taliban Appears in Video

An Arabic-language television channel has broadcast a video of Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, in which he says he has been kidnapped by Taliban militants.

The video of Tariq Azizuddin aired Saturday on Al-Arabiya television.

Azizuddin was surrounded by armed gunmen as he made his first public comments since disappearing in February. He said he and his driver and bodyguard are being held in comfortable conditions, although he said he suffers from high blood pressure and heart pain.

He said the three were kidnapped while driving through Pakistan's Khyber tribal district on the way to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Azizuddin urged the Pakistani government and Pakistan's envoys in China and Iran to comply with the demands of his captors. The ambassador did not say what those demands were.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.