Militants abduct 7 coalminers; free 3 later

A huge contingent of Frontier Corps (FC) and Balochistan Levies reach the Soranj coal field in Quetta soon after

QUETTA: A group of militants abducted at least seven coalminers working for the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) from a mine in Soranj coal field, located on the outskirts of Quetta, in the early hours of Tuesday. However, the kidnappers freed three of the seven coalminers within a few hours.

A senior official at Hanna Levies Station Abdul Qahir said a group of armed men arrived in an official PMDC ambulance at the coal field around 12:30 am. “They abducted seven employees, including a driver,” the official said. “Levies officials have recovered three out of seven kidnapped coalminers.”

A huge contingent of Frontier Corps (FC) and Balochistan Levies reached the site soon after. “Law enforcing agencies have mounted a massive manhunt in the area,” the official told The Express Tribune.

However, security forces could not trace the kidnappers until the filing of this report. The abducted employees were identified as Haji Lal Mohammed, Noor Mohammed, Saleh Mohammed, and Rehman Gul.

The three coalminers who were released were identified as Abdul Ghafoor, Sanaullah and Azizur Rehman. A search operation to recover the abducted men was under way in the area during the day.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2015.