Gwadar University Officials freed after Balochistan abduction incident

ISLAMABAD: The vice chancellor of Gwadar University and three staff members who were abducted earlier this month in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have been safely returned, a provincial official confirmed on Tuesday. The kidnapping had raised concerns about security in a region central to Islamabad’s strategic economic plans.

The abductions occurred on May 13 near Mastung district when armed men intercepted a vehicle carrying University of Gwadar Vice Chancellor Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Zahoor Ahmed Bazai, lecturer Dr. Muhammad Irshad and driver Muhammad Hatim on the Quetta-Karachi highway.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and least developed province, plays a crucial role in Islamabad’s economic strategy, including the development of Gwadar port and major mining and infrastructure projects. However, the province has experienced a prolonged separatist insurgency, with ethnic Baloch militant groups frequently targeting government officials, security forces, and Chinese-linked investments.

“I can confirm that four individuals, including Gwadar University Vice Chancellor Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir and Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Zahoor Ahmed Bazai, have returned home,” said Babar Yousafzai, spokesperson for the Balochistan Home Department, speaking to Arab News.

Authorities have not disclosed how the four men were released or whether negotiations or ransom payments were involved.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, though suspicion has fallen on separatist militants known for previous abductions of government officials in the province.

The incident prompted security forces to launch a search operation and renewed concerns about safety along key highways connecting Gwadar to Quetta and other parts of the country.

Gwadar port, located on Pakistan’s Arabian Sea coast, is a key component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Pakistan has increasingly promoted Gwadar and wider Balochistan as future trade, energy and mining hubs, particularly as regional tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have intensified focus on alternative trade and shipping routes.

Despite these ambitions, recurring militant attacks continue to hinder foreign investment in the province.

Last year, two senior government officers were abducted in separate incidents in Balochistan’s Kech and Ziarat districts. Assistant Commissioner Tump Muhammad Hanif Noorzai was later released by the Baloch Liberation Front, while Assistant Commissioner Ziarat Muhammad Afzal Baqi remains missing.

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