A deputy superintendent of police (DSP) was taken by suspected Baloch fighters in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Tuesday, local sources said, as the group continued to maintain control on Wednesday for a third consecutive day over a section of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) highway in the Karkh area.
Sources said DSP Anwar was taken from the Moola Cross area during a blockade established in Karkh, and that his whereabouts were not immediately known.
The blockade was first set up earlier this week, during which two men alleged by local sources to be linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency were shot dead and another was detained.
Separately, a bomb explosion targeted Pakistani forces in the same area as they were reportedly advancing on foot. Sources said the blast caused casualties among the forces. However, authorities did not immediately confirm the explosion or the reported casualties.
A local resident told The Balochistan Post that Pakistani forces subsequently fired multiple mortar shells from their positions, with projectiles landing in different areas, but added that the CPEC route remained under the control of the fighters as of Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in a separate highway blockade in the Johan area of Kalat district, fighters stopped the convoy of Saeed Langove, a candidate of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party for the Balochistan Assembly, and confiscated weapons carried by his guards. There were no immediate reports of injuries.