Peshawar: Three Pesco employees, 11 labourers kidnapped

PESHAWAR: Suspected militants kidnapped three employees of the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) and 11 labourers who were busy repairing a blown-up power pylon near the Frontier Road in Badaber on Tuesday, officials and sources said.

“The capital city police along with Frontier Constabulary, Frontier Corps and Political Khassadars have launched search operation in areas close to the boundary between Peshawar and volatile Khyber Agency for the safe recovery of the missing men,” a police official said. However, no progress was reported till late evening in recovery of the missing men.

“The kidnapped men include three employees of Pesco and 11 private labourers,” the spokesman for Pesco, Shaukat Afzal, told The News. He added that the provincial government had been informed about the incident so that immediate action could be taken for the recovery of the missing men.

Three junior officials of Pesco, Linemen Fayyaz, Altaf and Sohail and 11 labourers were busy repairing the Power Tower No 24 near the Frontier Road, in the jurisdiction of Badaber Police Station, when they went missing. The pylon was blown up by the militants a couple of months back.

The Frontier Road winds through the boundary between the settled and tribal areas. The area had become a trouble spot for the last many weeks.

“No group has claimed responsibility but Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Islam are suspected to be behind the kidnappings,” a police official of the area said while requesting not to be named. Lashkar-e-Islam claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing against the rival Ansarul Islam group leader, Haji Akhunzada in a suburban Peshawar village on Monday that killed five persons and wounded six others. Meanwhile, the employees of Pesco have announced protest from today (Wednesday) against the kidnapping incident.

The original article can be found at The News.

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