UPDATED: Rohde, 'NYT' Reporter, Escapes After Being Held by Taliban for 7 Months

By: Greg Mitchell Seven months ago, David Rohde, 41, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, was kidnapped by the Taliban in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region. If you never knew it, it's for a good reason: There was a complete media blackout on reporting it, as requested by the Times. Even blogs worldwide had almost nothing on it and there were no real breaks.

Shortly before noon today, the Times reported the escape and that Rohde appears to be safe and healthy.

Executive editor Bill Keller offered the following: ?From the early days of this ordeal, the prevailing view among David?s family, experts in kidnapping cases, officials of several governments and others we consulted was that going public could increase the danger to David and the other hostages. The kidnappers initially said as much. We decided to respect that advice, as we have in other kidnapping cases, and a number of other news organizations that learned of David?s plight have done the same. We are enormously grateful for their support.?

The AP reports: "Afghan officials confirmed the kidnapping in the days after the abduction, but The Associated Press and most other Western news outlets respected a request from the Times to not report on the abductions because the publicity could negatively affect hostage rescue efforts and imperil Rohde's life."

Nic Robertson, the CNN correspondent in Pakistan, now reports that a source tells him that the Pakistan Army played some role in aiding the escape. No confirmation as yet.

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued this statement: "We are thrilled that David and Tahir are finally free," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "Like many media organizations, we were asked by the Times not to publicize this abduction. We agreed because we believed that in this case it was in best interests of the hostages. We send our best wishes to David and Tahir, along with their families who have also endured this ordeal."

More from the Times today follows.
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New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban has escaped and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

David Rohde, along with a local reporter, Tahir Ludin and their driver, Asadullah Mangal, were abducted outside of Kabul on Nov. 10 while Mr. Rohde was researching a book.

Mr. Rohde was part of the Times reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize in May for coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan last year.

Mr. Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that Mr. Ludin joined him late Friday night in climbing over the wall of a compound where they were being held in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. They found a Pakistani army scout, who led them to a nearby army base, and on Saturday they were flown to the American Bagram military base in Afghanistan.

?They just walked over the wall of the compound,? said Ms. Muvihill.

According to Mr. Rohde, the driver, Mr. Mangal, had opted to join the Taliban.

The initial report was that Mr. Rohde was in good health, while Mr. Mangal injured his foot in the escape.

Until now, the kidnapping has been kept quiet by The Times and other media organizations out of concern for the men?s safety.

Since the men were abducted, there has been sporadic communication from them and from the kidnappers.

Ms. Mulvihill expressed relief at the end of the ordeal and gratitude to the many people ? official and unofficial ? who offered information, advice and support.

?The family is so grateful to everyone who has helped ? the New York Times, the U.S. government, all the others. Now we just hope to have a chance to reunite with him in peace,? she said.

?We?ve been married nine months,? Ms. Mulvihill added. "And seven of those, David has been in captivity."

Both Mr. Keller and Mr. Rohde?s family declined to discuss details of the efforts to free the captives, except to say that no ransom money was paid and no Taliban or other prisoners were released.

?Kidnapping, tragically, is a flourishing industry in much of the world,? Mr. Keller said. ?As other victims have told us, discussing your strategy just offers guidance for future kidnappers.?

Mr. Rohde, 41, had traveled to Kabul in early November to work on a book about the history of American involvement in Afghanistan when he was invited to interview a Taliban commander. Before setting out, Mr. Rohde instructed The Times?s bureau in Kabul on whom to notify if he did not return. He also indicated that he believed the interview was important and that he would be all right.

Mr. Rohde joined The Times staff in 1996 after winning a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting for documenting the massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica.