With the Pakistan Taliban claiming responsibility for the abduction of two Chinese telecom engineers who went missing from the Dir area of North West Frontier Province, the Chinese government has urged Pakistan to rescue the hostages and guarantee their security.

“We have demanded Pakistan go all out to rescue the two missing engineers and ensure their safety,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu said.

The two engineers, employees of Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Company (ZTE) disappeared along with their local driver and security guard four days ago near the Afghan border where they were repairing a communication tower.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muslim Khan told reporters that their armed cadres have the two Chinese men, along with their guard and driver.

“The Taliban''s 'Shura' or council will decide the fate of the Chinese engineers,” Khan said but did not specify any demands for their release.

Meanwhile, police said they had formed three special teams and launched a major search operation to trace the engineers.