Eight Gomal Zam Dam workers kidnapped
August 16, 2012
WANA/TANK: Suspected Taliban militants on Wednesday kidnapped eight workers, including sub-divisional officer (SDO), working at the Gomal Zam Dam project in South Waziristan tribal region, officials said.
Senior officials of the political administration in South Waziristan said the eight workers had left Gomal Zam Dam for Dera Ismail Khan in two vehicles and were intercepted on the Wana-Tank Road by unknown armed men, who kidnapped them at gunpoint.
A senior official in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, on condition of anonymity, said they believed the militants had kidnapped the workers and shifted them to their sanctuaries in the mountains. He said the militants belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had established sanctuaries in the mountainous area.
When contacted, Project Director Gomal Zam Dam, Engineer Saleem Khan, confirmed the incident and said the eight kidnapped men included Engineer Shahid Khan, Mechanical Supervisor Sanaullah, cook Munir Khan, driver Siraj and three daily wage workers. Two daily wage workers were identified as Sartaj and Shan.
Saleem Khan said the families of the missing men first reported the incident. He said the First Information Report (FIR) would be lodged once the place of occurrence was determined.Officials in the political administration of Frontier Region Tank while requesting anonymity said the incident took place in Kashmirkot area in South Waziristan. But South Waziristan Agency’s Assistant Political Agent Nawab Safi was of the view that the incident had taken place near Kot Murtaza, a town in the settled area some 30 kilometres to the northwest of Tank.
The kidnapping is the latest incident concerning the Gomal Zam Dam project, which has been delayed due to one reason or the other. Work on the project stopped in 2004 when two Chinese engineers were kidnapped by the Pakistani militants and one was killed during the military’s rescue mission. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping so far.
Senior officials of the political administration in South Waziristan said the eight workers had left Gomal Zam Dam for Dera Ismail Khan in two vehicles and were intercepted on the Wana-Tank Road by unknown armed men, who kidnapped them at gunpoint.
A senior official in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, on condition of anonymity, said they believed the militants had kidnapped the workers and shifted them to their sanctuaries in the mountains. He said the militants belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had established sanctuaries in the mountainous area.
When contacted, Project Director Gomal Zam Dam, Engineer Saleem Khan, confirmed the incident and said the eight kidnapped men included Engineer Shahid Khan, Mechanical Supervisor Sanaullah, cook Munir Khan, driver Siraj and three daily wage workers. Two daily wage workers were identified as Sartaj and Shan.
Saleem Khan said the families of the missing men first reported the incident. He said the First Information Report (FIR) would be lodged once the place of occurrence was determined.Officials in the political administration of Frontier Region Tank while requesting anonymity said the incident took place in Kashmirkot area in South Waziristan. But South Waziristan Agency’s Assistant Political Agent Nawab Safi was of the view that the incident had taken place near Kot Murtaza, a town in the settled area some 30 kilometres to the northwest of Tank.
The kidnapping is the latest incident concerning the Gomal Zam Dam project, which has been delayed due to one reason or the other. Work on the project stopped in 2004 when two Chinese engineers were kidnapped by the Pakistani militants and one was killed during the military’s rescue mission. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping so far.
