Islamic militants who have kidnapped two Chinese engineers in Pakistan said they would kill one hostage unless they were allowed to get away from their besieged hideout in a remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The captors, reportedly linked with al-Qaeda, extended the execution deadline by four hours last night but said they would not extend it any further. A senior Pakistani security official said tribal leaders were still in talks with the militants and there had been no change in the situation, even though the deadline had passed. Family members of the kidnapped Chinese engineers, Wang Ende , 49, and Wang Peng , 30, were being cared for by their employer, Sino Hydro, according to Sun Yue, vice-president of the company's overseas operations. 'All of us are extremely anxious about the situation and all we can do is to hope for the best,' he said. Wang Ende's wife, a 48-year-old economist surnamed Shi, is in a hospital in Dezhou , Shandong province where the company is headquartered. Wang Peng's wife had flown to Islamabad before her husband was kidnapped, Mr Sun said. 'Since I learned about the incident, I've been very worried and couldn't eat or sleep,' Ms Shi said. She is being kept company by her 22-year-old daughter, an accounting student, and female colleagues. The kidnappers have strapped explosives to themselves as well as the two Chinese hostages and have threatened to blow them up unless their demand is met, said Pakistan Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. They are holed up in a mud house surrounded by security forces and their tribal allies in the Chagmalai area of South Waziristan, about 330km southwest of Islamabad. 'They have mines strapped to their bodies. They also have grenades,' the minister said, adding the captors were insisting on one demand only - safe passage. The kidnappers originally demanded the release of two al-Qaeda militants detained in South Waziristan and an end to military operations in the semi-autonomous region. The two engineers were abducted on Saturday morning as they travelled to the Gomal Zam Dam project.
