20 police recruits abducted after passenger van intercepted in Mastung

Twenty police recruits undergoing training were abducted after armed men intercepted a passenger van on the Quetta-Karachi Highway in Balochistan’s Mastung district, according to government and police officials.

The recruits were enrolled at the Kalat Police Training Centre and were travelling home for the weekend when the vehicle was stopped. Officials said the personnel belonged to the Rakhshan division.

A senior provincial government official said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and were carrying automatic weapons. The recruits and the van were taken to an undisclosed location after the interception.

The driver and three other passengers travelling in the vehicle were released, officials said. Police authorities in Mastung also confirmed the incident and said those abducted were from the Levies Force, which has been merged with the police.

Security forces launched a search operation in nearby mountainous areas to trace the recruits. No information on their whereabouts had emerged at the time of the report.

No group had claimed responsibility for the abduction. The incident comes a day after Rakhshan Division Commissioner Asad Ullah Kakar was reported abducted in Kharan district, adding to concerns over attacks and abductions targeting officials and security personnel in parts of Balochistan.