Three paramilitary personnel abducted by militants in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar: Three personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps were abducted by unknown militants in the Tank district of Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, police said.

The soldiers were travelling in a car from Sor Qamar FC post to Tank Bazar when they were intercepted by the terrorists at a blockade they established between Kot Azam and Kot Qila area.

The terrorists at the checkpost took the three troops along with them and handed over their ATM cards and identity cards to the civilian driver whose car they had hired.

The abducted soldiers were going home on vacation when abducted, the driver said while handing over their belongings to the FC authorities at Kor Qila.

Last month, at least 13 labourers, who were working on high-powered electric transmission lines, were kidnapped by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants from the Tank district. While police managed to rescue nine of the workers a few hours after the abduction, four remain in captivity.

The banned TTP terror outfit on July 3 released a purported video of the four labourers in which the captives were seen pleading with Punjab Chief Minister Maryum Nawaz to secure their release as their lives are in danger, police said.

Earlier this month, security forces gunned down nine terrorists, including key commanders, of a banned outfit in two operations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan Army's media wing said.

The operations were conducted in Lakki Marwat and Khyber districts.