On 2 February, two ICRC staff – both Pakistani nationals – had been on a routine logistical mission in an ICRC-marked vehicle to Torkham, a town in Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, when they were seized in Khyber Agency, one of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. One of the two recovered his freedom a few days ago.

“The safe return of our two staff is a great relief. The anguish of their families has been shared by all of us for two long weeks,” said Pascal Mauchle, the head of the ICRC’s delegation in Islamabad. Ever since its staff members were seized, the ICRC had been multiplying contacts with all concerned in an effort to secure their swift release.

The ICRC is a strictly neutral and humanitarian organization. It works to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and internal violence.