The abductors of two Chinese engineers have called for the release of up to six of their accomplices currently in the custody of Pakistani authorities in return for the hostages' freedom, Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said Monday.

In an interview with the BBC, the minister said the kidnappers were under the control of Abdullah Mehsud, a former Taliban commander and chief of the militants in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area.

Sherpao said four militants were involved in the kidnapping, one Afghan, one Uzbek and two others probably of Pakistani origin. Earlier reports said there were five kidnappers.

Sherpao said the abductors, through their messenger, are demanding the release of a number of their accomplices although their identities remain unclear.

Sherpao said security agents know where the hostages are being held, adding that the militants are wearing bomb belts and are holding grenades.

The two engineers, Wang Ende and Wang Peng, were kidnapped Saturday by gunmen near Jandala in Pakistan's South Waziristan Tribal Agency bordering Afghanistan.

The engineers had been working on a water dam and a canal in the region for the China National Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Group Corporation.

Negotiations for the hostages' release are still underway and the Chinese embassy in Islamabad is closely following the issue.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2004)