Bodies of 14 kidnapped passengers found in Balochistan

MACHH: The bodies of 14 out of a total of 30 kidnapped passengers were found from the mountains near Machh in Bolan district, Balochistan Express News reported on Tuesday.

The passengers were on board five buses bound for Rajanpur in Punjab.

According to Dr Kashif, Assistant Commissioner of Machh, normally passenger buses out of Balochistan are escorted with safety personnel. However, a militant attack on an oil tanker in the same area lead to cross fire between the militants and the Balochistan Levies and Frontier Corps (FC), which kept security forces busy.

During the combat, one FC officer lost his life while two others were injured, Dr Kashif confirmed.

“Search operations in the area are continuing,” the assistant commissioner added while speaking to Express News.

The remaining passengers are still missing and the chief minister of Balochistan has taken notice of the incident.

The Frontier Corps (FC), the security force deployed in the province, has been struggling to maintain peace in unstable areas particularly those affected by ethnic and sectarian violence.