Five government officials were arrested from their residential areas of Sorange some 40 kilometers from Quetta by Baloch militants on Sunday and threatened to kill them. Banned Baloch Liberation Army claimed the responsibility and says it is in reaction of fresh military operation against Baloch population in restive area of Kohlu.
“Five officials of Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation including its project director were abducted by armed persons from their residential colony and were taken away to unknown place,” said Zafarullah Baloch, the Secretary Home and Tribal Affairs told Pakistan Today. He said that a team led by assistant commissioner Saddar Quetta had been sent with required force recover the officers.
According to detail some thirty armed persons riding three vehicles came to the residential colony of Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) in Soorange and surrounded the colony. They held five officials of PMDC including Project Manager on gun point and took them away to unknown location. The armed men also took two official vehicles with them. The officers were identified as Muktiar Ali, project manager, Tunveer Hassan and Kamran, the two auditors, Abdul Majeed, a surveyor and Mohammad Abid. All the abducted officials are said to belong to Punjab and Sindh province.
Meanwhile Meerak Baloch, the spokesman for Baloch Liberation Army, claimed the responsibility for the abduction of five officials of PMDC. He said the abduction of government officials is the reaction of newly launched military operation in restive district of Kohlu and neighbouring Chamalung area and warned that they will be executed one by one if PMDC did not close down the operation in the area.
On the other hand Commissioner Quetta Division Mohammad Naseem Lahri in response to a question told Pakistan Today that a Levy team led by Assistant Commissioner Saddar Asfandyar Baloch was sent to the area for the safe recovery of PMDC officials. He said that the local people and tribal notables had been contacted and their cooperation was sought for the forces efforts for the recovery of the abductees.