The Christians were kidnapped when they were travelling in a truck through Waziristan just a few miles away from Razmak town in Federal Administred Tribal Areas (FATA).

Official reports have said that the kidnappers are believed to be members of the Taliban, who control FATA and have imposed 'jiziya', a tax levied on non-Muslims, since January.

The region is the continuation of North-West Frontier Province where Pakistani forces battled the Islamic militants last month.

Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti condemned the abductions yesterday, and demanded authorities recover the victims safely and submit an official report on the incident.

Unfortunately the latest incident is not an isolated one. Islamic militants and criminals in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt have on a number of occasions previously targeted minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. There have been several instances of members of minority communities being abducted for ransom or forced to pay jiziya.

According to Pakistan Christian Post, the recent abduction of the eight Christians has created a wave of fear among their relatives living in Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province.

Previously, seven Christians from a church in the vicinity of Peshawar University were abducted by Taliban militants. They were eventually released two days later by Taliban Commander Mangal Shah after reaching a deal with the government.