Balochistan Highway Abduction: 20 Police Trainees Taken by Unknown Gunmen

In Balochistan’s Mastung district, a convoy of twenty police trainees traveling in a passenger van on the Quetta‑Karachi highway was intercepted by an armed gang on October 17. The trainees, who had completed a weekend training program at Kalat police training centre, were forced onto motorcycles and driven away to an undisclosed site. The van’s driver and three other passengers were released. Authorities identified the missing officers as part of the Levies Force, now merged with the regular police, and belonging to the Rakshan Division. Security forces have begun a comprehensive search in the surrounding mountainous region, but no group has stepped forward to claim the act. The incident follows a recent kidnapping of the Rakshan Division commissioner in nearby Kharan, reflecting the chronic instability in the province.