Aid workers targeted?: Armed men storm Khwendo Kor office

Police are investigating whether the men were militants.

PESHAWAR:

Armed men stormed the office of Khwendo Kor in suburban Mathra early on Saturday morning.

Around 10 armed men entered the Khwendo Kor office, a non-government organisation (NGO) that works for the welfare of women, and overpowered the guard Ahmad Nawaz before taking him hostage.

Mariam Bibi, Khwendo Kor’s founder and chief executive, confirmed the reported theft and clarified what had been stolen. “Three of our vehicles, two air conditioners, a generator and an LCD screen have been stolen by the armed men,” she said. This was not the first time the organisation had been targeted. “An improvised explosive device was found near our office at Jalozai Camp, and other offices belonging to the NGO have been bombed in the past,” Bibi said.

“They told the guard they were militants and were robbing the office because it was working for foreign interests,” said a police official at the Mathra police station. He said authorities were investigating the matter. “We are looking into whether or not they were militants.”

Although militants were active in the area in the past, the police official added their operations had become limited to the settled district due to the presence of security forces in adjacent Mohmand Agency. An FIR was not registered till this report was filed. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2013.