The employees of The American Refugee Committee (ARC) were returning after distributing food items from an Afghan refugee camp in Pishin, 50km from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
province, on Monday evening when they went missing.
"They distributed some relief goods among the refugees and were probably kidnapped on their way back to Quetta," Mansoor Kakar, Pishin's deputy commissioner, told Rooters.
Security forces launched a search operation in the refugee camp and other suspected areas. No one has grabbed credit as yet.
Kakar said it was not clear who was behind the possible kidnapping: "We don't have any clue so far. Efforts are underway to recover them."
Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as ethnic Baloch gangs fighting for more autonomy, have been involved in violence in the region, which also borders Iran.
Kidnapping is an industry in Pakistain's lawless tribal regions, with money often the main motivation rather than political demands.
Ransoms are a large source of revenue for the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Baloch fighters.
ARC has worked in refugee camps near Quetta since 2002, focusing on providing healthcare and training members of the community in basic health services, according to the ARC website.
It began operating in northern parts of Pakistain after the devastating earthquake in 2005.
Earlier this month, a Swiss couple was kidnapped by gunnies in the district of Loralai in Balochistan. They have not yet been recovered.
An American official of the UN refugee agency was kidnapped in Quetta in 2009 but was released after two months.