WANA: The political administration in South Waziristan Agency gave on Friday two days to elders of Sulimankhel tribe to find five employees of Fata Develop­ment Authority (FDA) and their four guards who went missing in an area of the agency on Thursday.

According to officials, Assistant Political Agent Saad Qaisrani held a meeting with elders of the tribe and asked them to produce the missing people by Sunday. Otherwise, he warned, action would be taken against the entire tribe under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

The action would include sealing of properties of the entire tribe and suspension of ‘incentives’. Besides, they would be kept under custody till the release of the missing employees.

The employees went missing on Thursday when they were inspecting development work in Toi Khula, an area close to the agency’s border with Balochistan.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

In Peshawar, an official statement said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had taken notice of the matter and directed officials of security agencies and political administration to do everything possible to get the personnel freed.

Reuters adds: Authorities in South Waziristan arrested 22 tribesmen on Friday in a “collective responsibility” punishment a day after the FDA employees were kidnapped.

“We have arrested 22 tribesmen to put pressure for the release of the ... FDA officials as the kidnapping took place in their area and it is their collective responsibility to help authorities in the recovery,” Masood Khan, a political officer, said.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2016