Pakistan: At least 18 tribesmen abducted from Peshawar outskirts

At least 18 tribesmen were kidnapped by armed gunmen from Badhber area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The incident took place on Saturday at 2 am. Official sources said that about 60 to 70 armed gunmen raided Faqeer Kalley in Mashokhel area of Badbher, some one kilometres away from the main city and kidnapped 18 people from the village. The local people and the police said the kidnapped people belonged to the Shinwari tribe of Afridis. Badhber police have registered a case against three commanders of the banned religious outfit Lashkar-e-Islam for kidnapping of eleven tribesmen. Commanders Khalid, Sherkhel and Izzat have been nominated in the FIR. One of the kidnapped persons has managed to escape from the kidnappers and has reached back home who phoned the police that the Khyber Agency-based Lashkar-e-Islam kidnapped the tribesmen. Peshawar lies on the edge of Pakistan's tribal areas which have been labelled by Washington as the main sanctuary for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country. The city has seen frequent attacks by militants in the past few years, with targets ranging from civilians to policemen and other law enforcement personnel. Separately, the political administration of Khyber Agency has also suspended the polio vaccination drive scheduled to begin on March 17 due to the law and order situation.