A message from the editor

Ken Hechtman, the Montreal-based freelance journalist who has been filing reports for the Mirror from Pakistan and Afghanistan, has gone missing, the Mirror was informed Tuesday. Initial reports said that he was being held by gunmen in the Afghani border town of Spin Boldak.

Reporters from USA Today and the British daily The Guardian called the Mirror offices with the news that Hechtman was being held alone, in a cell, under armed guard and for ransom.

As Mirror readers are aware, Hechtman, who left for Pakistan on Oct. 5, has been published weekly in our pages since

Oct. 18. At press-time, the exact circumstances of his disappearance, as well as his present situation, are still unclear.

We have been in regular contact with the Hechtman family, who hope their privacy will be respected, and with the Department of Foreign Affairs. The news-gatherer protection group Reporters Sans Frontières has also been in touch with the Mirror and the family, and has offered its negotiating services.

The Mirror staff wish to express our support for the Hechtman family and loved ones. This is obviously a trying time for them, and we continue to hope for the best.

--Alastair Sutherland