A Call For Release

Former hostage Terry Waite appealed to Kashmiri militants Wednesday to free four Western tourists kidnapped a year ago.

The appeal by Waite and relatives of the hostages was broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corp. on the eve of the first anniversary of the hostages’ abduction.

“Nothing could be gained by keeping the men,” said Waite, a former Anglican Church envoy who was taken hostage by Shiite Muslims in Lebanon in 1987 and held for nearly five years.

Amnesty International also joined the appeal, saying “to hold these four hostages for a year in captivity is almost unbelievably callous.”