DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — In a recent incident, Pakistani security forces successfully rescued eight out of the 16 miners who were abducted by militants in the northwest region of the country on Thursday morning, according to law enforcement and security officials.
The coordinated rescue operation commenced just hours following an ambush on the miners’ vehicle while they traversed a narrow road in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan. Police officer Mohammad Ijaz provided details regarding the ambush, which occurred as the workers were en route from Lakki Marwat to a nearby mining site, although he did not elaborate further on the incident.
Additional security sources noted that the mining project connected to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission was associated with the abducted workers, even though they are not direct employees of the commission. Efforts are ongoing to locate and free the remaining miners still in captivity.
It remains undetermined whether the attackers faced any losses during the incident. As for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, representatives were not readily available to provide comments on the situation.
The abduction has drawn significant attention, especially after militants released a video depicting a number of the kidnapped workers. In this footage, one of the individuals urged the authorities to meet the demands put forth by the abductors for the miners’ release, though the specific terms of those demands have not been disclosed.
While there has been no formal acknowledgment of responsibility for the kidnapping, preliminary investigations suggest that the Pakistani Taliban may be involved, given their increased activity targeting both security personnel and civilians in recent months.
This event follows another violent occurrence where armed Baloch separatists took control of a government facility, robbed local banks, and partially set fire to a police station in Khuzdar, a remote district within southwestern Pakistan. Reportedly, the Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the assaults that took place on Wednesday, with analysts indicating that the separatists are emerging as a significant security threat, rivaling the Pakistani Taliban.
Local police officer Suhail Khalid confirmed that the separatists withdrew when security forces were deployed, asserting that the situation was ultimately brought under control.
In recent times, both Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have witnessed a notable increase in militant activity, primarily attributed to the insurgent groups such as the Baloch army and the Pakistani Taliban, also referred to as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The Pakistani Taliban has been increasingly emboldened following the Taliban’s resurgence in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, utilizing the sanctuary provided by their allies across the border.
Balochistan, rich in minerals and oil, holds the distinction of being Pakistan’s largest yet sparsely populated province. It is home to Pakistan’s ethnic Baloch population, who express sentiments of marginalization and exploitation perpetrated by the central government.
