20 Police Recruits Abducted in Pakistan’s Balochistan

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Pakistani newspaper Dawn has reported that 20 police recruits, who were attending a training course at the Kalat Police Training Center, were abducted in the Mastung district of Balochistan province while returning home for a weekend holiday.

Local officials stated that a group of armed individuals on motorcycles, carrying automatic weapons, intercepted the van carrying the police recruits on the Quetta-Karachi highway. They then took the recruits, along with the vehicle, to an unknown location. The driver and three other passengers of the van were released.

Mastung police officials announced that the abducted individuals belonged to the “Levies” force, which was previously integrated into the police structure. These recruits hailed from the Rakhshan region.

Security forces have launched a search operation in the surrounding mountainous areas to locate the abducted individuals. However, no information regarding their whereabouts has been released, and no group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction.

This incident follows the abduction of Asadullah Kakar, the Commissioner of the Rakhshan region in Kharan district, Balochistan, just one day prior. Additionally, Munir Ahmed Soomro, the Deputy Commissioner of Kharan, was released on October 3rd after nearly two weeks of captivity, following negotiations with local tribal elders.