GWADAR / QUETTA: A government official was kidnapped while travelling from Quetta to Tump, officials said on Wednesday.

Unidentified assailants intercepted the official vehicle of Tump Assistant Commissioner Muham­­mad Hanif Nurzai on the main highway and abducted him along with his wife, official guard and driver.

However, the kidnappers later freed Mr Nurzai’s wife, his driver and guard and allowed them to go home.

The incident took place in the Karenkan area, some 50km from Turbat, officials said.

“The Assistant Com­m­i­ssioner of Tump, Hanif Nurzai, was going to Quet­­ta along with his wife to celebrate Eid when un­­known armed men kidnapped him,” Kech Depu­­ty Commissioner Bashir Ahmed Breach told a press conference in Turbat. Mr Nurzai was posted to Tump about one-and-a-half years ago, he said.

Sharing details of the incident, DC Breach said the culprits drag­ged Mr Nurzai in front of his wife after intercepting his vehicle and took him away at gun point.

The armed men also se­­arched Mrs Nurzai’s handbag before fleeing, he said.

Security forces laun­ched a search in the area to trace out the kidnappers, but no arrest was reported till late evening.

Mr Breach termed the AC’s maltreatment and kidnap as being against Baloch traditions and values.

“Mr Nurzai was not involved in any security operation and merely fulfilled his administrative duties in Tump,” he said, adding that the district administration along with security forces were making all out efforts to ensure his safe recovery.

“We are also reaching out to tribal elders for assistance in this regard,” he informed the media.

Meanwhile, the banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

“AC Tump Hanif Nurzai is in our custody,” a BLF spokesman said in a statement issued to the media.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2025