QUETTA/KHUZDAR: Unknown armed men blocked the Quetta-Karachi Highway in the Mongochar area of Kalat district and set fire to several government buildings in the Mongochar bazaar on Friday night.

According to sources, a group of armed men obstructed the national highway, intercepting numerous vehicles. They searched several vehicles, including passenger buses and private cars, halting all types of traffic along the route.

The sources said the armed group entered the Mongochar bazaar and took control of several government buildings, including the offices of Nadra, Judicial Complex, and National Bank of Pakistan, and set them on fire. The buildings suffered significant damage due to the fire.

The armed men fled the scene before security forces arrived.

Officials said that an operation was launched in the area, and traffic on the highway was restored late in the night.

In a separate incident, a group of armed men on motorcycles attacked a Levies check post near Kot-Langove, opening fire and killing a Levies official, identified as Haq Nawaz Langove.

Levies officials also reported a powerful explosion under a bridge on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway near the Rahimabad area of Kalat district, which slightly damaged a portion of the bridge. No casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, six people, including a woman and two children, were injured in a firing at a passenger coach in the Khudkocha area of Mastung.

Mastung Assistant Commissioner Akram Harifal said the injured were shifted to Ghous Bakhsh Memorial Hospital.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025