The Taleban delayed a threat to kill 23 South Korean hostages yesterday while increasing their demands for a prisoner swap. But President Karzai of Afghanistan is under pressure to refuse to release Taleban fighters in exchange for the Christian aid workers.

Mulavi Attiullah Luddin, a member of parliament from Nangarhar, said of a possible swap: “It will only encourage the Taleban to take hostages. It’s opening a market for all Taleban, criminals and al-Qaeda”.

Such concerns are fuelled by the experience of Wardak province, which is next to Ghazni, where the South Koreans are held, and where the last prisoner release set a dangerous precedent.

One of the Taleban commanders who was released in March in exchange for an Italian journalist has helped to turn Wardak – 40 miles (65km) from Kabul – into a mini Taleban state. Ustad Muhammad Yassar was the former head of the Taleban information and cultural wing in the Chak district of Wardak. Chak was relatively peaceful before he became one of five Taleban commanders freed to help to guarantee the safe return of Daniele Mastrogiacomo. Widespread development work in the district had been hailed a success.

Since the return of Yassar a German clinic that had operated for more than 20 years has been forced to close. Residents have been beaten for having satellite dishes and wedding parties are reportedly broken up if they play music. “One night they came to our house, broke our television and our antenna, and beat us. They slapped me and kicked me,” one resident said.

There are Taleban checkpoints only a few miles outside Banda Chak, the province’s main town. Much, if not all, of this is blamed on the return of Yassar. “It is true that the situation deteriorated after Yassar was let go. It is bad now and it is going to get a lot worse,” Muhammad Ibrahim Sadeq, the district governor of Chak, said.

A Taleban commander said: “When Yassar was released he came to Wardak. He held a big meeting in Chak district and all the Taleban came to see him. He is good at speaking and he encouraged people to join the fight.” He told his deputy that he should kill anyone he suspected of working for the Kabul Government, according to the commander.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taleban spokesman, has insisted that the 23 Koreans, including 18 women, will be freed only if the Afghan Government releases 23 militants from its jails. “If the Government of Afghanistan and the Government of Korea are asking for the release of their hostages, then we believe the Taleban also have the right to ask for the release of their prisoners who are spending time in Afghan jails,” he said.

Mr Karzai has been criticised for the swap deal that involved Yassar. Wadir Safi, Professor of Law and Political Science at Kabul University and a political analyst, said: “The first day the Afghan Government made a deal with Taleban . . . I was shocked. These Koreans will not be the last time they make such demands.”

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