Kashmiri Kidnappers May Be Seeking Deal

Kidnappers holding four Westerners in Kashmir are asking for compensation for their upkeep, apparently as a face-saving way of freeing them, a lawmaker monitoring the situation said Wednesday.

Legislator Tim Devlin also said the hostages - including Spokane psychologist Donald Hutchings, 42 - had received parcels of taped messages, socks and winter clothing from their families in time for Christmas.

Devlin said the kidnappers have been in direct contact with the British high commissioner, or ambassador, Sir Nicholas Fenn, and with Indian and British negotiators.

The Indian negotiator was told four days ago that the hostages had gotten the Christmas parcels, Devlin said.

London’s Guardian newspaper reported that the kidnappers repeatedly broached the subject of compensation for supporting the hostages during a conversation with Fenn, the ambassador, on Dec. 7. The caller asked the envoy to pay for the call.