22 labourers abducted in South Waziristan

Search operation mounted in and around site area

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

Unidentified militants kidnapped 22 civilian labourers in South Waziristan on Friday.

An official of the Frontier Region Tank political administration told The Express Tribune that the workers were abducted while carrying out maintenance work on the Tank-Wana road in the Neeli Kach area.



Initial investigation suggests the militants came to the place in four vehicles and were heavily armed. No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

All the kidnapped labourers are from Punjab. A search operation has been mounted by the security forces along with the political administration officials.



The Neeli Kach area is situated along the boundary of South Waziristan Agency with the Balochistan province. A number of important development projects, including the Gomal Zam dam, have been launched there.

The Sajna faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan holds sway in the area but it is too early to speculate who could have abducted the workers, a security official said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that the labourers kidnapped were workers of the Frontier Works Organisation. The error is regretted. Editor

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2015.