Officials in Pakistan say two Chinese engineers working on a power dam project have been kidnapped.
They say the two men and their Pakistani security guards were abducted early Saturday near Tank, a remote region in South Waziristan, where al-Qaida-linked operatives are active.
Pakistan's state-run television network (PTV) quotes the country's information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, as saying talks for the Chinese hostages' release are under way.
The engineers were working on construction of the Gomal Zam dam, a project to generate electricity and store water.
South Waziristan has been wracked by violence this year, as the Pakistani army has conducted military operations against suspected foreign militants and their local supporters.