Swiss couple kidnapped near Loralai: Officials
The couple, said to be tourists, might have been heading for Quetta.
QUETTA:
A Swiss couple said to be tourists went missing in Loralai on Friday, police said.
“The Swiss couple did not inform the provincial government or the local administration about their journey to Balochistan so that adequate security measures could be provided,” said Home Secretary Balochistan Zafar Baloch, while confirming the incident.
According to the police officials, the couple had entered Balochistan from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab and might have been heading for Quetta. They were listed as missing near Sirki Jangal, a Levies check post Loralai.
“The couple entered the province around 5pm and registered themselves as husband and wife at a police checkpoint,” official Sohailur-Rehman told Reuters. “We have found the vehicle in which they were travelling. Law enforcement agencies have sealed off the entry and exit points of the district and are carrying out a search operation,” said the deputy commissioner of Loralai.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident or contacted authorities about the kidnapped foreigners.
According to sources, a group of armed men intercepted their vehicle and kidnapped them presumably for ransom.
ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2011.
A Swiss couple said to be tourists went missing in Loralai on Friday, police said.
“The Swiss couple did not inform the provincial government or the local administration about their journey to Balochistan so that adequate security measures could be provided,” said Home Secretary Balochistan Zafar Baloch, while confirming the incident.
According to the police officials, the couple had entered Balochistan from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab and might have been heading for Quetta. They were listed as missing near Sirki Jangal, a Levies check post Loralai.
“The couple entered the province around 5pm and registered themselves as husband and wife at a police checkpoint,” official Sohailur-Rehman told Reuters. “We have found the vehicle in which they were travelling. Law enforcement agencies have sealed off the entry and exit points of the district and are carrying out a search operation,” said the deputy commissioner of Loralai.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident or contacted authorities about the kidnapped foreigners.
According to sources, a group of armed men intercepted their vehicle and kidnapped them presumably for ransom.
ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AGENCIES
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2011.