Militants release kidnapped worker of Pakistan’s atomic energy agency

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released one of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission employees abducted earlier this month from the Lakki Marwat district in northwest Pakistan, the group said in a statement Saturday.

The abduction occurred on January 9 when unidentified gunmen attacked a vehicle transporting more than a dozen workers to the Qabul Khel Uranium Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP later claimed responsibility for the incident.

Earlier, eight abductees were freed through a combination of police and security forces’ search operations in the district’s dense forests and negotiations involving tribal elders.

In its statement, the TTP said the latest release was a “gesture of goodwill” after requests from local tribal leaders. Before being freed, the employee recorded a video message under duress, though the contents of the message remain undisclosed.

Families demand action

The families of the missing workers, supported by the local community, organized a grand jirga last week at the School Ground in Dalokhel. During the gathering, the jirga issued a two-day ultimatum to the authorities for the safe recovery of the abductees.

"If the authorities fail to act, we will initiate a sit-in, shut down the Qabul Khel Uranium Plant, and cut gas supplies to Punjab," the jirga declared.

Deputy Commissioner of Lakki Marwat, Zeeshan Abdullah, had assured that the administration, security forces, and jirga members are working together to secure the workers' release. “We are doing everything possible to ensure their safe recovery soon,” he told Nukta.

Strategic challenges

Lakki Marwat district is one of several areas close to the border with Afghanistan that has experienced a spike in militancy over the past several years.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan government of allowing militancy to flourish in the border regions, a charge that Kabul denies.

The TTP is the most active militant group. It regularly targets security forces, but also carries out kidnap for ransom operations.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, is charged with researching atomic energy and its uses in the fields of agriculture, medicine and industry.

A district official who asked not to be named confirmed that the site was being mined for uranium.

*With additional input from AFP