Aid worker’s family give thanks for release efforts

THE family of murdered Scottish aid worker Khalil Dale yesterday expressed their thanks to the people who tried to secure his release.

Khalil Dale was beheaded after being abducted at gunpoint in January while working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Pakistan.

The body of the 60-year-old, a Muslim convert from Dumfries, was found dumped on Sunday in a remote orchard with a note saying he had been killed because his kidnappers had not received a ransom.

Mr Dale’s sister-in-law, Margaret Dale, from York, was reported as saying his relatives would have raised the ransom themselves if they had known it was not going to be paid.

But, in a statement released through the British Red Cross yesterday, Mr Dale’s family, including Mrs Dale, said they had been “kept informed throughout”.

It read: “As Khalil’s next of kin we wish to reaffirm our request for time and space to grieve the loss of a beloved partner, brother and best friend. We have found comfort – in a time of great trauma – in the flood of tributes we have seen from around the world.

“Knowing that our Khalil touched the lives of so many people means so much to us.

“We wish also to affirm our faith in all those who worked around the clock to secure the release of Khalil.”

Christian Cardon of the ICRC added: “The policy of the ICRC when it comes to ransom is that we do not pay but we systematically call for the unconditional release of a hostage.

“This has also been the case for this crisis.”