By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: The security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) took another alarming turn on Thursday as unidentified assailants abducted two Pakistan Customs officials and the president of the Waziristan Chamber of Commerce in South Waziristan, an area increasingly plagued by militancy and instability.
The abduction, which occurred in the Sholam area while the victims were returning from Angor Adda, was confirmed by Deputy Commissioner Nasir Khan. The kidnapped individuals have been identified as Customs Superintendent Nisar Abbasi, Inspector Khushal, and Saif-ur-Rehman, the president of the Waziristan Chamber of Commerce.
While the motive behind the kidnapping remains uncertain, authorities strongly suspect the involvement of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has intensified its activities in KP following the collapse of a fragile truce with the Pakistani state in November 2022. The TTP and other militant factions have escalated their campaign of violence in the region, targeting security personnel, government officials, and civilians through abductions, targeted killings, and bombings.
The latest kidnapping follows a disturbing pattern of recent abductions in the region. Earlier, a worker from the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Dr. Nauman, was kidnapped in the Azam Warsak area of South Waziristan. On January 9, the TTP abducted over a dozen workers from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in Lakki Marwat, though some were later released.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the most recent incident, authorities have heightened their suspicions of TTP involvement given its history of targeting officials and influential figures in the region. The district administration and local police have launched an investigation into the matter, with security forces intensifying efforts to locate and recover the kidnapped individuals.
