Senior police officer SHO Ali Asghar Nichari has mysteriously gone missing along with his gunman Salman from Mangochar tehsil in Kalat district, Balochistan, after which security in the area has been put on high alert.
According to reports, SHO Ali Asghar Nichari left the police station in a private vehicle for routine patrolling, after which contact with him was lost. As there is still no trace of either man, it is strongly feared they have been abducted, although final details of the incident are awaited.
In recent days there has been a steady rise in incidents of government and administrative officers being abducted or going missing in Balochistan.
Yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kharan district was also abducted from the road by armed men; he was later recovered and reached home safely. However, no group claimed responsibility for that abduction.
Earlier, the Assistant Commissioner of Tump had also been taken into custody by armed men and released some time later. The Baloch pro-freedom armed organisation, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), formally claimed responsibility for that action.
No armed organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the disappearance of the SHO and his gunman in Mangochar.
Meanwhile, local sources and analysts say that local militias and so-called “death squads” operating under the Pakistani army’s patronage in Balochistan have also been involved in kidnapping for ransom, highway robbery and other crimes in the area. The presence and free rein of these groups raise many questions about the nature of such mysterious disappearances of state personnel.
