Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin appeared in a video tape on Al Arabiya television surrounded by armed militants to make his first public statement since he disappeared.

"We were kidnapped by Mujahedin from the Taliban," the ambassador, wearing an open-necked shirt and looking calm, said in remarks translated from Urdu into Arabic.

Scores of people have been kidnapped in the dangerous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the ambassador's disappearance highlighted instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan – a major ally in the US-led crackdown on militants. The Pakistani government had not publicly confirmed he had been kidnapped, but a senior government official said yesterday Azizuddin was being held by militants who were demanding the release of their arrested colleagues.

In a message to Pakistan's foreign ministry undersecretary, its envoys to China and Iran, and his brother, Azizuddin said: "Because of my health condition I… appeal to them to do all they can to preserve our lives and meet the demands of the Taliban Mujahedin as soon as possible."

The ambassador was on his way to Kabul from the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on February 11 when he disappeared along with his driver and bodyguard in the Khyber tribal region. Azizuddin said he, his driver and bodyguard had been held for 27 days at the time the tape was filmed.

According to a senior Arabiya journalist, the ambassador spoke about "the release of any Muslim held in Pakistan whose release is demanded by the Taliban".

This appeared to refer to Taliban commander Mullah Mansour Dadullah held by Pakistan, the Arabiya journalist said, adding the tape was sent to the offices of Dubai-based Arabiya. Two days after he went missing, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants denied they had kidnapped Azizuddin and the foreign ministry denied media speculation that the Taliban had demanded the release of Dadullah in exchange for the envoy.

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said there was no mention of any demands in the four-and-a-half minute tape he had seen and he was not aware of any demands.

"Yes, it is him, but… we're not in a position to verify if he's in the custody of the Taliban," Sadiq said.

A Pakistani security official said at the time the envoy was to have changed cars at the border but did not show up. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had said he was sure the envoy had been snatched.

The historic Khyber Pass is the main road link to landlocked Afghanistan in northwestern Pakistan and a major supply route for foreign forces in Afghanistan.