Two years after a Canadian freelance journalist was kidnapped in Pakistan, a report has surfaced that Beverley Giesbrecht has died in captivity and a longtime friend says his "gut feeling" is that it's true.

Giesbrecht, who converted to Islam and adopted the name Khadija Abdul Qahaar after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was in the Bannu district of northwest Pakistan in November 2008 when she, her translator and her guide were taken at gunpoint.

An Indian newspaper reported earlier this week that Giesbrecht died following a lengthy illness, while still being held by her kidnappers. The report cited anonymous sources and did not indicate when Giesbrecht may have died.

Glen Cooper, whose friendship with the 57-year-old former West Vancouver resident spans decades, said government officials have told him the report has not been confirmed.

But Cooper said he's long been worried that Giesbrecht's health would fail and he fears the report is true.

"The problem is that the report is unconfirmed, but it's plausible because her health was not very good going into this and it only got worse when she was captured," Cooper said in an interview.

"My gut feeling is that she has passed."

In the weeks following her abduction, Foreign Affairs said Canadian officials were working with Pakistani authorities to secure Giesbrecht's safe and early release.

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Monette said in an email statement Thursday that the department is aware of the report in the Indian Express newspaper.

"We will not comment or release any information which may compromise ongoing efforts and endanger the safety of the individual involved," she said.

"We continue to pursue all appropriate channels in seeking information with regard to Ms. Giesbrecht."

A report last year said Giesbrecht's captors wanted the equivalent of about $150,000 and the release of some prisoners jailed in Afghanistan. This week's Indian Express report said the kidnappers wanted US$2 million.

Giesbrecht was the publisher of Jihad Unspun, a website critical of the U.S.-led war on terror. In a note on the website, she wrote she launched the publication "to give voice to the other side of (the) war on 'terrorism.'"

She said in another post that she is "not a 'terrorist,' a fanatic or mentally off-balance" but is instead "a level-headed, capable woman, a humanitarian and a contributing member of society."

She left Vancouver for London on April 7, 2008, and went on to Lahore, Pakistan, on Aug. 4, 2008.

Days before she was abducted, Giesbrecht appealed to her readers to donate money so she could leave the increasingly dangerous country.

"As a woman, I have already had a few close calls in the tribal areas as kidnappers and thieves are running loose," she wrote.

Cooper said Thursday it's been difficult to obtain information on Giesbrecht in recent months, however, he stopped short of laying blame on Canadian officials.

"I have no doubt that the government is actively trying, attempting to find out what the real story is," he said.

"They haven't managed to confirm anything at this point, but it's not clear to me why that is. It might just be there's a lack of communication in that area. Nobody really knows where she is."