3 excise officials kidnapped after attack on checkpost in Balochistan'

**Three excise officials abducted after armed attack on checkpost in Chagai**

QUETTA: Three excise department officials were abducted at gunpoint after armed men attacked a temporary checkpost on the Dalbandin–Taftan Highway in Balochistan’s Chagai district, police sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday evening when, according to the sources, around 30 armed men surrounded the checkpost, which had been set up for routine checking. The attackers allegedly held the officials on duty at gunpoint before taking them away.

Police sources said the assailants also seized two official vehicles and weapons from the site. After being informed of the attack, police and other law enforcement personnel rushed to the area and cordoned it off.

A search operation has been launched to trace the attackers and recover the abducted officials safely, the sources said. An investigation is also under way to determine who carried out the assault and which route they used to escape.

The attack comes amid continuing security concerns in Balochistan. Earlier this month, security forces and law enforcement agencies launched Operation Shaban in response to a deadly assault on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat on July 6, in which 27 police officers were kidnapped and killed.

A monthly security assessment released in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said Balochistan had emerged as the province most affected by violence in May, with a sharp rise in attacks and kidnappings. The report said the province recorded 71 terrorist attacks during the month and accounted for 52 of the 54 kidnappings reported nationwide.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later said the country’s civil and military leadership had taken a joint decision to end terrorism after several major attacks in Balochistan. He made the remarks during a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan in Quetta on July 9, a day after the military’s chief spokesperson blamed recent attacks in the province on actors based in India and Afghanistan.

This report is based on a monitored public feed and published with attribution to the original source.

Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017233/3-excise-officials-kidnapped-after-attack-on-checkpost-in-balochistans-chagai-police-sources