A deputy superintendent of police was martyred in an armed attack in Barkhan, while 11 workers linked to development projects were abducted in separate incidents in Kech and Khuzdar as security operations continued in parts of Balochistan, it was reported on Wednesday.
DSP Mureed Bugti was on routine patrol when armed men blocked the Barkhan-Rakhni Road in the Khatta Chowki area, opened fire on his vehicle and tried to abduct him along with a police constable, a senior Balochistan government official confirmed.
Police teams moved to the area after receiving information about the assault and chased the attackers. During the ensuing exchange of fire, DSP Bugti was killed, and the constable was injured.
Barkhan SP Abdul Haq said security forces had launched a search operation to trace the attackers and their facilitators. Shahid Rind, aide to the chief minister for media and political affairs, said an operation was under way in Rakhni and additional personnel had been called in after the area was surrounded.
Workers taken in two districts
In Kech district, armed men intercepted a vehicle on the Turbat-Mand Road in the Kalatak area and abducted seven labourers associated with a development project, officials said. They said more than half of the workers were from Punjab, while one was Pashtun.
Babar Yousafzai, an aide to the home department, confirmed the kidnapping and said one of the hostages had been killed. He said, “The body of the slain laborer was recovered from the area who was identified as Javed,” adding that security forces had launched an operation for the recovery of the remaining abducted workers.
In a separate incident in Khuzdar district, armed men kidnapped four employees of a private construction company from the Karkh area, where they had been working on emergency flood protection projects, police said.
Mohsin Naqvi pays tributes to martyred DSP Mureed Bugti
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid glowing tributes to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mureed Bugti, who embraced martyrdom while going to participate in an operation against terrorists in the Rakni area of Barkhan.
In his message Mohsin Naqvi said that the martyred DSP Mureed Bugti stands as an enduring example of valor, dedication to duty, and sacrifice.
DSP Mureed Bugti, who stood firm in the face of danger for the sake of peace in Barkhan, is the pride of the nation; the nation will always cherish the sacrifice made by this brave son of the Balochistan Police.
