ISLAMABAD, Jan. 09 (Agencies) – Police and security officials in northwestern Pakistan reported on Thursday that militants have abducted at least 16 government workers, with unclear demands for their release.
The workers are employees of a mining project linked to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), situated in the conflict-prone Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. According to police officer Mohammad Ijaz, the workers were traveling to work on a minibus when they were ambushed and taken hostage at gunpoint. The kidnappers then set the vehicle on fire before fleeing with the captives.
The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, releasing a video showing some of the abducted workers. In the footage, several hostages urged authorities to meet the militants’ demands to secure their release, although they did not clarify what those demands were. VOA has been unable to independently verify the video’s authenticity or the militants’ claims.
The PAEC is responsible for advancing the peaceful use of nuclear energy in various sectors, including agriculture, medicine, industry, and nuclear power generation.
The Lakki Marwat district, along with other areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, frequently experiences TTP attacks targeting security forces and government officials.
This kidnapping follows a recent attack in Balochistan province, where separatist militants briefly seized a government office, robbed a bank, and vandalized a police station in a remote district. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, though no casualties were reported.
Balochistan, rich in natural resources, has seen an uptick in insurgent attacks led by the BLA in recent months. The group is fighting for Balochistan’s independence, a region that also borders Afghanistan.
Islamabad claims that both the TTP and Baloch insurgents operate from safe havens in Afghanistan, with attacks escalating since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. However, the Taliban leadership in Kabul denies the presence of foreign militant groups in Afghanistan, asserting that they do not allow attacks on neighboring countries from Afghan soil.
The TTP is designated as a global terrorist organization by the United Nations, which has described it as the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan, with an estimated 6,000 fighters.
Update on the Hostages:
According to AP, Pakistani security forces have successfully recovered at least eight of the 16 mine workers kidnapped by militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The recovery operation was launched hours after the insurgents ambushed the workers’ vehicle on a narrow road in the Lakki Marwat district, close to the Afghanistan border.
The workers were traveling from Lakki Marwat to a nearby mining project when the attack occurred, said police officer Mohammad Ijaz, who did not provide further details.
Although the mining project is associated with the PAEC, the abducted workers were not directly employed by the commission. Other security sources confirmed that efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining hostages.
It is unclear whether any insurgents were killed or injured during the operation. No comments were immediately available from the PAEC.
The development follows the release of a video sent to journalists by the militants, showing some of the hostages. In the video, one worker can be seen urging authorities to meet the kidnappers’ demands for their release, though the specific demands remain unclear.
