Sir: Worrying news is coming out of Dera Ismail Khan where a Chinese tourist has been kidnapped by a faction of Taliban militants. The man was kidnapped on May 19 whilst on a cycling tour of the country. The militants are demanding the release of Taliban fighters from the government in exchange for the tourist. This is a worrisome situation indeed because China is one country that has remained on friendly terms with us through thick and thin, and is one of the main allies we have in overcoming the debilitating energy crisis. Is the government doing anything to ensure the safe return of the man or are we just going to sit back and wait until we get the hard end of the stick by the Chinese also for our inability to tackle the terror problem? We must stick together with friendly nations and make sure that they have no cause for complaint when it comes to our internal security situation. AKRAM WAZIR Lahore