No militant organisation had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Six people kidnapped during a vaccination drive in February this year from Peeng area of Frontier Region (FR) Tank have been set free, according to a government official.
An official of FR Tank’s political administration told the The Express Tribune that Dr Khan Dad Dawar, a polio circle officer, and his colleague Sadiq Khan were kidnapped during a vaccination drive along with their driver and three levies personnel providing security.
The official said their release materialised after a jirga comprising local tribal elders succeeded in negotiations with the captors. Queries as to whether a ransom was paid for their release were not answered by the official.
On February 17, the two doctors and members of their entourage were kidnapped by unidentified armed men from Peeng village, close to the volatile South Waziristan Agency. No militant organisation had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
On February 28, the political administration launched a crackdown against the Bhittani sub-tribe, Waraspon, which resides in that area under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. FR Tank Assistant Political Agent Khalid Mehmod had said at the time that 13 Waraspon tribesmen were arrested and a few vehicles were impounded.
Later, an eight-member jirga of Waraspon elders was formed and assigned the task to help find the kidnapped persons.
Left unvaccinated
Meanwhile, the last day (Wednesday) of the ongoing polio campaign was suspended in Kulachi and Daraban tehsils of DI Khan due to security concerns. A ban on pillion riding was already imposed in three tehsils of the district from April 28 to May 1 as part of security measures for vaccinating teams.
According to a statement issued by the district government, police officials in Roodi, Madi, Loni and Kulachi Bazaar foiled attempts of attacks on polio teams during the recent drive.
More than 40 people, including health workers and police officials guarding vaccination teams, have been killed in the country since December 2012, according to AFP, the news agency.
Increasing attacks on polio workers across the country and a ban by the Taliban on polio vaccinations in North and South Waziristan have dented government efforts to stem the spread of the virus.
More than 90 polio cases were reported in the country last year and of the 58 cases reported this year, 45 are from the tribal areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2014.
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