South Korean hostages set free by Taliban

The South Korean hostage drama is finally over, with all the remaining hostages freed by the Taliban. Is it the beginning of operation blackmail? South Korean hostages are no longer hostage to the Taliban. Their 8-week long ordeal ended after their brutal captors handed over the remaining seven in breakaway groups. But, what motivated the Taliban to set their hostages free? Neither the South Korean government nor the Taliban is uttering a word in this regard. What is known is that Taliban’s initial demand of bartering the hostages with their prisoner brethren was rejected. So, what was it that changed the minds of Taliban, any kind of humanitarian feeling? Nay, I don’t think that brutal masters can take such an extravagant step, that too, for a humanitarian cause. But, whatever be the reason, one thing is sure, Taliban emerged victorious out of the entire drama enacted and played by them at the cost of 23 lives, out of which two hostages were earlier massacred brutally by them. They were able to persuade South Korea to draw its troops, aid workers and engineers out of Afghanistan. The South Korean Government heeded to these demands to save the lives of its 21 citizens abducted by Taliban in July. But, hasn’t the Korean government set a dangerous precedent? Yes, of course, such a costly step by the Korean Government is going to prove expensive, particularly because the other side at the negotiating table was Taliban, who never leave a stone unturned to go to any extent to force their illegitimate demands on their rival governments or democracy. Democracy once again emerged the loser, but no one is sure about the future. What Taliban has gained out of it, they can easily held any democratic regime hostage to it through its abduction spree. The Taliban wants to rule Afghanistan and the world if possible. Image Source: USA TODAY