Militants Kidnap 25 Police and Paramilitary Troops in Pakistan

July 29, 2008— -- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A peace deal between Islamic militants and the local government in Pakistan's volatile Northwest Frontier Province is in jeopardy today after militants kidnapped at least 25 police officers and the local government threatened to "fully utilize" the military to reassert its control over the area.

The kidnapping occurred in the picturesque Swat Valley, a former tourist destination where Pakistani members of the Taliban have become increasingly active since signing a peace agreement with the local government in May.

The kidnapped troops and officers, who function as a local police force, were stationed at a newly constructed post in Deloi when they were surrounded by militants, said Major General Athar Abbas, the military's chief spokesman.

"The militants or the miscreants have gone over-active," Abbas told ABC News. "Whenever they find an opportunity, they undertake these kidnappings. In this area, this police force are surrounded."

The Pakistani army later recaptured the post and arrested six militants during a search and rescue operation. Two soldiers were killed in the fighting, including one captain, but none of the kidnapped officers were recovered.

Local residents told ABC News that as many as 37 troops and officers had been taken.

"After a bit of respite, fire has erupted again in Swat all of a sudden," Jan, a local trader, told ABC News.

Today's abduction comes more than two months after regional officials and Islamic militants signed a hand-written, 16-point agreement in which the fighters renounced militancy and the government allowed them to impose Islamic law over the area.

But since that time security has deteriorated in Swat, an area that was once a popular tourist destination.

"The provincial government has struck a deal with the militants, but the deal on the ground is facing great difficulties," Abbas said.

The U.S. has criticized the Pakistani government for pursuing peace deals instead of launching military campaigns against the militants, who have taken control of an increasingly large area along the Pakistan border with Afghanistan. The U.S. believes that militants can use the Northwest Frontier province to launch attacks on Pakistani institutions as well as on coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan.