WANA: The in-charge of Wana TB hospital was kidnapped by masked gunmen on Wednesday from Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan tribal district.

The local administration confirmed the incident and said that Dr Noor Khanan Wazir was kidnapped by the gunmen travelling in a non-custom-paid vehicle.

A senior official said that security forces cordoned off the area soon after the incident and started a search operation. However, nobody was arrested till the filing of this report.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s adviser on merged district Ajmal Khan Wazir said that the provincial government had directed the deputy commissioner and district police officer of South Waziristan to take immediate steps for safe and speedy recovery of the kidnapped doctor.

Dr Noor Khanan hails from the Ahmadzai Wazir clan. He is the brother of Dr Maulana Taj Mohammad Wazir and son of former MNA Maulana Noor Mohammad.

Maulana Noor was killed in a suicide bombing on a mosque in Wana in 2010 when he was giving Quran lessons to his students. At least 35 other people were also killed in the bombing.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019