Terrorists demand prisoner exchange for releasing atomic energy workers

Prominent journalist Azaz Syed revealed on Wednesday that Fitna Al Khawarij, commonly known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), allegedly kidnapped 17 workers of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Lakki Marwat district on January 9.

Speaking on the YouTube channel Talk SHOCK, Syed disclosed that the Khawarij are demanding the release of their members from the Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) and police in exchange for the PAEC workers' release.

On January 9, 17 PAEC workers, including a coach driver, were abducted at gunpoint in KP’s Lakki Marwat district.

District police spokesperson Shahid Marwat had said, “Around 9am on Thursday, 17 workers, including a driver, involved in a mining project were travelling in a minibus when they were stopped and taken away at gunpoint by some men on Dara Tang Road in Lakki Marwat.”

Hours after the incident, videos purportedly showing the abducted workers surfaced on social media, with the workers appealing to the government to meet the militants' demands for their release.

According to Syed, Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) member Naseer Turab was involved in reconciliation efforts with the Khawarij and the government to secure the release of the PAEC workers.

Meanwhile, Syed claimed that Pakistan allegedly conducted an airstrike on the terrorists' hideout, where the PAEC workers were being held captive.

The journalist stated that the Khawarij handed over the dead body of a PAEC worker, along with a driver who was still alive. The terrorists claimed the death was the result of the alleged airstrike.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has not issued any statement regarding the targeting of these hideouts.

According to Dawn News, the deceased was a contract worker for PAEC named Rehanullah, whose body was found in the rugged terrain of the remote Zareefwaal area in Lakki Marwat district on Saturday.

After medico-legal formalities at the hospital, Rehanullah’s body was handed over to his relatives. He was laid to rest in a local graveyard, and his funeral prayers were attended by a large number of people from across the district.

On Monday, thousands of people protested against the delay in the safe recovery of the abducted PAEC workers in front of the main gate of the District Headquarters Complex, Lakki Marwat.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat also participated in the protest, urging people to set aside political affiliations and unite for peace.

Later, one of the speakers, Naseer Turab, warned that if the terrorists did not release the hostages within three days, the tribesmen would come out with weapons and "launch an action" against them.