KOHAT, Jan 17: Militants kidnapped on Saturday four more members of the ANP from Hangu, making it the seventh incident of abduction involving the party workers and leaders from Hangu and Kohat districts during last one month.

The pattern of the kidnappings shows that the militants were only taking away rich members of the party and releasing them unhurt after a couple of days, after receiving ransom or forced by a verdict of the jirga.

Interestingly, the abducted persons were not asked to either grow beard or go for Tabligh (preaching) as usually demanded by the Taliban.

Officials said that four ANP workers -- Waseef, Nawab Gul, Younis Khan and Mumtaz -- were kidnapped from Naryab area, the stronghold of the militants where they have also enforced their brand of Islamic code. Younis Khan and Mumtaz, two brothers, were taken away from their home by force.

Earlier, the central finance secretary of the ANP, Haji Salamat Khan Orakzai was kidnapped from Kohat-Rawalpindi road, and Amin Paracha and Malik Riaz, the latter being the ANP Hangu district president, were also picked up.