Lack of security: Transporters stage protest against driver kidnappings, block National Highway

Flow of traffic between Balochistan and Sindh remains suspended.

QUETTA: Transporters blocked the National Highway near Sibi on Monday protesting against the kidnapping of four drivers the previous night. As a result, the flow of traffic between Balochistan and interior Sindh remains suspended.

According to local officials, a group of armed men kidnapped four truck drivers, en route to Quetta from interior Sindh, near Bakhtyarabad in Bolan district late Sunday night.

One of the drivers, Khair Mohammad, later managed to escape from captivity.

Whereabouts of others, identified as Mustafa Achakzai, Qader Achakzai and Gul Hassan Langov remain unknown.

“There were nine kidnappers, well armed with sophisticated weapons. They took away the drivers leaving behind the trucks,” truck cleaners told the media.

In their protest, transporters raised slogans against law enforcement agencies as well as the provincial government for their failure to curb incidents of kidnappings on highways.

Deputy Commissioner Kachhi Mohammad Aslam Riasani tried to negotiate with the protesters but the transporters refused to call off their demonstration, demanding an immediate release of their colleagues.