April 06, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429

QUETTA, April 5: Kidnappers on Saturday evening set free the director-general of the mines and minerals department, Balochistan, along with his deputy director. The two officials had been kidnapped while travelling between Quetta and Khuzdar.

The kidnappers did not, however, release the driver of the official vehicle they were travelling in, sources said.

DG Mines Chaudhry Mohammad Irfan and Deputy Director Dr Saeed Baloch had left Quetta on Thursday. When they did not reach Khuzdar till Friday morning, officials of the department informed the authorities about their disappearance.

Police and other law-enforcement agencies then launched a massive search operation for their recovery. However, both the officers reached home on Saturday evening.

They said they had been intercepted by armed men between Kalat and Khuzdar, adding that they had been blindfolded and driven to an unknown location. They said they were kept there for two days.

On Saturday afternoon, they were released near the Quetta airport with a warning that they were not to remove the blindfold for half an hour.

“Kidnappers made no demand for our release,” they said, adding that they were generally treated nicely.