Police in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Saturday efforts were being made to secure the safe release of kidnapped workers of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) after a banned militant network released a video featuring some of them while listing demands for their release. Eight of them were later released through joint efforts by tribal elders amid a search operation conducted by police and security forces in the dense forest area where the militants had reportedly taken them. While the government did not issue a statement on the incident, Shahid Marwat, a police spokesperson in the district, confirmed that a group of nearly 18 “civilians” working on “atomic and mining projects” had been kidnapped by armed gunmen. The militants later shared their credentials on social media, identifying them as PAEC employees. Speaking to Arab News on Saturday, Marwat said the militants had made demands for the release of the abductees, adding that local elders and officials from security forces and the district administration were holding meetings to ensure their safe release.