Gunmen 'kidnap over a dozen travellers in Pakistan'

Gunmen Saturday kidnapped over a dozen people in northwest Pakistan, a region beset by militant and sectarian violence, a senior government official said.The hostages were travelling from Peshawar city to Parachinar, the main town in the tribal region of Kurram, when their vehicle was intercepted by around 40 armed militants, local administration chief Khalid Omarzai, said.He said "13 people including two employees from the state-run power supply company have been abducted."Abdul Rashid, a police official in the nearby town of Hangu, said he had received information that "the number of hostages was 50 plus.""They stopped their vehicles and whisked away the passengers," Rashid said.Omarzai said the incident took place as authorities were trying to hammer out a peace accord between Sunni and Shiite communities in the area.
"It is an attempt to sabotage the peace efforts," he said.
The area is a sectarian flashpoint, where Sunni and Shiite militants have clashed in the past. They have also kidnapped rival sect members for payment of ransom and have sometimes killed the hostages.
Local MP Mufti Janan told AFP the kidnappers appeared to be from Kurram, where Pakistani Taliban militants are active.
"They have contacted me to convey that some travellers were in their custody," he said, without saying how many hostages were being held.
"I am in touch with them and hope they will be released shortly," he added.
Shiites account for about 20 percent of Pakistan's Sunni-dominated population. The two communities usually coexist peacefully, but more than 4,000 people have died in outbreaks of sectarian violence since the late 1980s.