Taleban militants threatened Tuesday to kill a kidnapped Lebanese engineer if his Turkish construction company fails to leave Afghanistan within 24 hours. The engineer, Ahmed Reza, was abducted on Monday near Qalat, the capital of the restive south-eastern Zabul province, local officials said.
"If the Turkish company he works for will not leave or prepare for leaving we will kill this engineer" by 12:00 pm (0730 GMT) on Wednesday, Abdul Latif Hakimi, the ousted regime's purported spokesman told AFP.
Some of Hakimi's claims have proved unreliable or exaggerated in the past.
In Beirut, the foreign ministry said Lebanon was working to secure the hostage's release.
Foreign Minister Fawzi Salukh has instructed Lebanon's ambassador to Pakistan, also accredited to Afghanistan, "to undertake the necessary contacts with parties which could help uncover the truth about the kidnapping and seek to obtain his release", it said.