QUETTA: Three excise officials were abducted at gunpoint following an assault on their department’s temporary checkpost along the Dalbandin–Taftan Highway in Balochistan’s Chagai district, according to police sources speaking to Dawn on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday evening when unidentified armed men targeted the checkpost, which had been established for routine inspections. Approximately 30 attackers surrounded the site, took the officials hostage, and subsequently fled with two official vehicles and weapons.
Law enforcement agencies swiftly responded to the attack, securing the area and initiating a search operation to locate the perpetrators and secure the safe recovery of the abducted personnel. Authorities are also investigating the identity of the assailants and the route they used to escape.
The incident underscores ongoing security challenges in Balochistan. Earlier this month, joint operations by security forces and law enforcement launched Operation Shaban in response to a July 6 attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat, where 27 officers were kidnapped and killed. A monthly security assessment by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) noted a sharp decline in security in May, with Balochistan recording 71 terrorist attacks—a 109% increase from April. The report highlighted a surge in abductions, with 52 of 54 nationwide cases occurring in the province.
On July 9, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a unified civil and military decision to combat terrorism during a Provincial Apex Committee meeting in Quetta, attended by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. This followed a press conference by ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who attributed recent attacks in Balochistan—including incidents in Quetta (July 5), Ziarat (July 6), and Bela (July 7)—to cross-border support from India and Afghanistan.
