Shocking reports coming out of Pakistan indicate that 16 nuclear scientists have been abducted by militant outfits. According to reports, the abducted scientists had been working for Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission. Pakistani officials have indicated that the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) is behind the abductions. Pakistan maintains that the militant TTP is looking to pressure the Pakistani government into meeting their demands, including halting the ongoing military offensive against TTP fighters. However a human rights activist has raised far more dangerous concerns as it has been indicated that the abduction is a coverup by the Pakistani government to smuggle Uranium to Iran.
Human rights activist Amjad Ayub Mirza has raised serious concerns regarding the reported abduction of the nuclear engineers from a uranium mining site in Lakki Marwat, located in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan. Mirza has alleged that the incident may be an inside job, with suspicions of Pakistan’s military involvement in a broader scheme.
The Taliban angle
The goup being accused, the Pakistani Taliban are also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), it is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, the current rulers of Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures. Among the stated objectives of TTP is resistance against the Pakistani state. The TTP’s aim is to overthrow the government of Pakistan by waging an armed campaign against the Pakistan armed forces and the state.
The demands of the TTP are based in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, a border province of Pakistan that is claimed by Afghanistan and the Taliban. The Khyber region is dominated by the Pashtun community most of whom consider themselves as Afghans. The region had come under the control of Pakistan due to an arbitrary line drawn by the British, the Durand line although the border remains unrecognized by the Taliban.
The TTP is strongly armed and regularly conducts militant operations against the Pakistan state. This time it is being being alleged that the TTP have abducted Pakistan’s nuclear engineers. A video has also surfaced showing the kidnapped scientists, pleading for their safety. The reports suggest that in the video, the scientists, reportedly working at the Qabul Khel Atomic Energy mining project in Lakki Marwat, can be seen urging the Pakistani government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to ensure their safety and accept the TTP’s demands. The distressed scientists are shown asking the government to stop military actions against the TTP in exchange for their release.
TP captures 18 engineers from #Pakistan‘s Atomic Energy Commission in Dera Ismail Khan, reportedly seizing uranium.
Pakistan can’t even keep nuclear assets safe. It’s high time the world acts to disband Pakistan’s unsafe nuclear program for global security. #GlobalThreat pic.twitter.com/mLgAictNUq
— Sajeda Akhtar (@Sajeda_Akhtar) January 10, 2025
Allegedly, the TTP, in a statement, clarified that their intention was not to harm the nuclear scientists but to use them as leverage to pressure the Pakistani government. The group has demanded that Pakistan halt its military offensive against TTP fighters and give in to other conditions. Reports also suggest that TTP militants have looted a huge amount of uranium from Pakistan’s largest uranium mine, adding further concern to the escalating situation.
The Iran question
While the Pakistan Taliban are being accused of the kidnappings. According to human right activist Amjad Ayub Mirza, though the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been accused of stealing uranium from the site, Mirza believes the situation is far more complex. Mirza has accused sections of Pakistan’s military of facilitating the theft to mask alleged uranium smuggling to Iran. Mirza questioned, “How could the TTP breach a secure uranium mining area without resistance from security personnel or the military?” He also noted that no shots were fired during the incident.