Armed men abduct 20 under-training police personnel in Mastung: officials

Quetta witnessed a harrowing incident on Tuesday when unidentified armed men abducted 20 police recruits who were returning home for the weekend. The recruits were part of the Levies Force, a force that has since been integrated with the police, and they were en route to Kalat Police Training Centre when they were intercepted by armed assailants on the Quetta-Karachi Highway in Mastung district.

A senior Balochistan government official confirmed the abduction to Dawn on an anonymous basis, stating that the recruits were involved in a passenger van journey when they were taken away by armed men. The armed men, riding motorcycles and armed with automatic weapons, intercepted the van and apprehended the recruits, along with the vehicle.

To their relief, the driver and three other passengers were released. Police officials in Mastung also verified the abduction, noting that the abducted personnel were from the Rakhshan division. Following the incident, security forces have initiated a search operation in the surrounding mountains to locate the abducted recruits, although no information regarding their whereabouts has been reported yet.

No group has come forward to claim responsibility for the abduction. Earlier in the week, Rakhshan Division Commissioner Asad Ullah Kakar was kidnapped in Balochistan's Kharan district but was released unharmed after negotiations with local tribal elders. Additionally, Kharan Deputy Commissioner Munir Ahmed Soomro was freed after nearly two weeks in captivity on October 3 following talks between local tribal elders and the abductors.

Earlier, on July 21, three excise officials were kidnapped in Balochistan's Chagai district following an attack on a checkpost.