- By Ajeet Kumar
- Thu, 05 Jun 2025 03:48 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Unidentified militants abducted 11 employees of a private company from Pakistan's northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, news agency PTI reported citing its official. However, police pursued the suspects and rescued six of the abducted employees.
On receiving the alert, District Police Officer Superintendent of Police Dera Ismail Khan and Counter Terrorism Department Superintendent of Police Shakeel Khan, along with their teams, reached the spot and launched a search. While they managed to rescue six of the abducted, a search operation is currently underway to rescue the remaining five hostages and nab the suspects.
The employees, travelling in three vehicles of a private company, were en route from Islamabad to Quetta when they were abducted near Domanda Bridge in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In a separate incident, residents of Tirah Valley in Khyber district bordering Afghanistan thwarted an attempt to abduct a Pakistan army soldier.
Pakistan kidnapping spree
It is not the first time when such an incident reported from Pakistan. In 2017, six Pakistanis working for a Polish oil company were kidnapped by militants. Security in Pakistan has deteriorated over the last few years with many of the northwestern areas bordering Afghanistan remaining volatile and dangerous, especially for foreigners and those working with foreign companies.
Train hijack in Pakitan
The semi-autonomous northwest frontier region, hard to access due to rough terrain, has long been the sanctuary of fighters from Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups. Earlier in March this year, militants took over the Jaffar Express in a remote mountain pass in Balochistan province, blowing up train tracks in the attack then holding passengers hostage in a day-long standoff. Army spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said soldiers killed 33 of the insurgents, rescued 354 hostages and brought the siege to a close. He added there was nothing to suggest the BLA had taken other hostages from the scene.
(With inputs from agency)