QUETTA: Armed men set on fire five oil tankers in Balochistan's Mastung district on Monday and also kidnapped four drivers before fleeing from the scene.

Levies sources told DawnNews that armed men opened indiscriminate fire on five oil tankers in Kirdi Gap area of Mastung.

The sources added that the tankers were carrying fuel from Karachi for the Saindak Project situated in Balochistan's Chaghi district when they were targeted in Kirdi Gap.

The tankers caught fire as the gunfire ignited the fuel payload, following which the militants picked up four drivers and fled to an undisclosed location in the mountainous region.

Fire fighters were dispatched from Mastung city to put off the fire.

Levies and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel reached the spot as a probe into the incident went underway.

A search operation was launched in the area to ensure the safe recovery of kidnapped drivers, Levies said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however, Levies suspect Baloch separatist militants could be behind the attack.

Oil tankers have regularly been targeted with arson attacks blamed on insurgents attempting to disrupt two key supply lines that cross western Pakistan

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...