Pakistan recovers 2 UN employees after gunbattle near Afghan border

April 21st, 2008 Sana · No Comments

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani security forces recovered two U.N. employees after a gunbattle Monday with their captors in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border, an official said.

One paramilitary soldier was killed and four were wounded in the clash in Khyber tribal region, said Mohammed Iqbal, a local government official. The two employees of the World Food Program, both Pakistanis, escaped unharmed, he said.

Unidentified gunmen captured the U.N. workers earlier Monday as they traveled by road to Torkham, U.N. spokeswoman Amina Kamal said. Torkham is the main international border checkpoint linking northwestern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It was not clear whether the gunmen belonged to an Islamic militant group or were criminals kidnapping for ransom.

Iqbal had no information on whether any of the gunmen were killed or wounded in the gunbattle.

The U.N. spokeswoman said the two employees were now back in Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan was abducted in Khyber on Feb. 11 as he headed by road to Kabul.

The ambassador, Tariq Azizuddin, appeared on a video aired Saturday on Al-Arabiya television saying he was kidnapped by Taliban militants, and urging the government of Pakistan to take steps for his release.

Since then, Pakistan has said it was making efforts for the recovery of Azizuddin.

The abductions have underscored the precarious security along Pakistan’s frontier with Afghanistan after years of clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani forces.

Pakistan’s new civilian government is seeking dialogue with militants in a bid to bring peace to the region.