PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday freed a worker of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), who was kidnapped among more than a dozen others this month in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, and handed over body of another employee who had died in captivity, police said.
The Pakistani Taliban, which have recently stepped up attacks in Pakistan’s restive northwest, had kidnapped more than a dozen workers of the sensitive government agency, responsible for nuclear energy projects, from the volatile Lakki Marwat district on Jan. 9.
Eight of them were later released through joint efforts by tribal elders and amid a search operation conducted by police and security forces in the dense forest area where the militants had reportedly taken the kidnapped employees.
While the Pakistani government had not issued a statement on the incident, Shahid Marwat, the Lakki Marwat police spokesperson, had confirmed that a group of nearly 18 “civilians” working on “atomic and mining projects” had been kidnapped by armed gunmen.
“Following hectic efforts by local administration and [tribal] elders, one of the abductees has been set free, while they [kidnappers] have handed over dead body of another abductee to the elders,” Marwat told Arab News on Saturday.
“Eight employees are still in kidnappers’ captivity.”
There was no immediate confirmation of the development by the Pakistani government or the PAEC, but the Pakistani Taliban said they released the worker as a “goodwill gesture.”
“An atomic energy commission official was released as a goodwill gesture at the request of tribal elders,” they said in a statement.
Marwat said it wasn’t immediately clear how one of the abductees had died in captivity.
“His dead body is in hospital for postmortem to know if he was killed by the kidnappers or he had died of natural causes,” he told Arab News.
Earlier this month, the militants released a video of the abductees, in which a man was seen reading out the demands laid by the kidnappers, requesting the government to “immediately” accept them.
The demands included the release of militants arrested in Lakki Marwat, the release of families of militants allegedly in government custody, a commitment not to demolish the homes of militants and their relatives in the future, and compensation for the homes already demolished in the region.
Lakki Marwat is situated on the edge of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal districts bordering Afghanistan, where the TTP has frequently targeted security force convoys and check-posts, in addition to engaging in targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Pakistani Taliban release kidnapped worker of atomic energy commission, body of another — police
https://arab.news/47a6v
Pakistani Taliban release kidnapped worker of atomic energy commission, body of another — police
- Over a dozen Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission workers were kidnapped from Lakki Marwat on Jan. 9, with eight of them released later
- No immediate confirmation of the release of one more worker by the government, police official says eight workers still remain in captivity
Snow slide during clearance operation in Pakistan’s north kills three, including army officer
- The military says the incident occurred at the high-altitude Burzil Pass in the Gilgit-Baltistan region
- PM Sharif pays tribute to the fallen personnel, praising their duty despite severe winter conditions
ISLAMABAD: A snow slide during a military-led clearance operation at the high-altitude Burzil Pass in northern Pakistan killed two soldiers and a civilian machine operator in the early hours of Saturday, the Pakistani military said.
The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on Jan. 3 while heavy machinery was being used to clear snow and reopen the pass to facilitate the operational movement of Pakistani forces.
Located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Burzil Pass sits on a rugged, high-altitude route linking Astore to Gurez near the Line of Control with Indian-administered Kashmir.
“On night 2/3 January 2026, a Snow Clearance Operation was conducted, using heavy machinery to open Burzil Pass to facilitate operational movement of own forces in the area,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said.
It added that the operation was being led by Captain Asmad, 28, when the snow slide struck, trapping him along with two soldiers and a civilian operator from the public works department.
“All four individuals were rescued from snow,” ISPR continued. “However, the condition of Captain Asmad, Sepoy Rizwan (age 32 years, resident of Attock) and Machine Operator Essa (resident of Astore) deteriorated and all three individuals embraced Shahadat [martyrdom].”
The military said these individuals “rendered ultimate sacrifice” by carrying out a challenging operation in extreme weather conditions to facilitate the operational movement of the forces in the area.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later paid tribute to the deceased, saying they performed their duty despite the dangers posed by heavy snowfall, according to a statement released by his office.
“The martyrs carried on with the task of opening the snow-affected Burzil Pass without regard for their own lives and played their role in ensuring movement,” Sharif said, while offering condolences to their families.
