KARACHI: Two Pakistani employees of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) who were abducted in Karachi four days ago were recovered on Monday, officials said.

Officers raided a house in the east of the city in the early hours of the morning after tracing mobile phone signals, senior police official Sultan Khawaja, told AFP, and found the UNICEF staff.

But there was no sign of the people suspected of kidnapping the pair, who went missing in the city on Thursday evening, said Khawaja.

“UNICEF is pleased to confirm that two of its national staff who were abducted on Thursday evening in Karachi are now safe and well,” the UN agency said in a statement.

“The police led the investigation, in close contact with UNICEF and the staff members' families.”

According to police the UNICEF employees went missing when they were returning from a picnic resort at the outskirts of Karachi.

Karachi, a city of 18 million, is Pakistan's economic heart, but it is also plagued by sectarian, ethnic and political violence. Criminal gangs are also run rampage on the city's streets, robbing and kidnapping people for ransom on a daily basis.