Islamabad/Geneva (ICRC) – Two employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been missing in Pakistan since Saturday, 2
February.
The field team was on a routine logistical mission in an ICRC-marked vehicle to Torkham, a border town between Pakistan and Afghanistan, when the ICRC's sub-delegation in
Peshawar lost radio and phone contact with them.
The disappearance took place in one of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, known as Khyber Agency, on a road regularly used to
transport relief goods to Afghanistan.
The employees' families have been informed about the situation and any developments.
The ICRC is concerned about the fate of its team
members, who are both Pakistani nationals.
"We are in direct contact with the national and local authorities, in order to ascertain the circumstances of their disappearance, their current
status and whereabouts, and to ensure that they return safe and sound," said Marc Achermann, the acting head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Peshawar.
"The safety of our staff is key to
ensuring that people affected by armed violence receive the assistance they need." The ICRC, which has been present in Pakistan since 1981, carries out relief activities for the victims of armed
violence, including medical help for people wounded in fighting or by mines in the country's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The
programme supports several hospitals and medical facilities in Peshawar, Abottabat, Tank, Bannu and Quetta.
It includes coverage of surgical and treatment costs, the provision of medicines
and medical materials, and training for surgeons and nurses.
Pakistan's western areas have seen an increase in armed clashes between government forces and armed groups over the past seven
months.
The worst affected areas are the NWFP and the FATA.
The ICRC is a strictly neutral and humanitarian organization, which works to protect and assist people affected by
conflict, according to International Humanitarian Law.
For further information, please contact:
Marco Succi, ICRC Islamabad, tel +92 300 850 81 38
Anna Nelson, ICRC Geneva,
tel +41 79 217 32 64
Afghan police and security forces arrive at a mosque after a suicide blast in Lashkar Gah city in the southern Helmand province January 31, 2008. A suicide bomber blew himself up ...
