QUETTA: A police officer was martyred and a police constable sustained injuries during an exchange of fire between armed men and police in Barkhan district, while in two separate incidents 11 workers associated with development projects in Kech and Khuzdar were kidnapped before the body of one of them was found on Tuesday.

DSP Mureed Bugti was on routine patrol when armed men blocked Barkhan-Rakhni Road in the Khatta Chowki area, opened fire on their vehicle and attempted to kidnap him along with a police constable, a senior official of the Balochistan government confirmed.

However, officials said, police rushed to the area on receiving the information about the assault and started chasing them. In an ensuing encounter, DSP Mureed Bugti was martyred and the other cop wounded.

Barkhan SP Abdul Haq said that security forces launched a search operation in the area to trace out the attackers and their facilitators.

A search operation was underway in Rakhni, with additional security personnel called in to assist the operation, said Shahid Rind, aide to the chief minister for media and political affairs. He explained that security forces had surrounded the area for search.

Meanwhile, seven labourers and four employees of a private construction company working on different development projects in Balochistan were kidnapped in Kech and Khuzdar districts.

Officials said that armed men blocked Turbat-Mand Road in Kalatak area of Kech district and took away seven labourers travelling in a vehicle. Half of them were hailed from Punjab while one was Pashtun, and all of them were associated with a development project, officials said.

Babar Yousafzai, an aide to the home department, confirmed the kidnapping and said the kidnappers killed one of the hostages. “The body of the slain laborer recovered from the area who was identified as Javed,” Yousafzai told Dawn, adding that security forces launched an operation for their recovery.

Separately, armed men kidnapped four employees of a private construction company in the Karkh area of Khuzdar district, officials said.

“All the four officials of the private company were working at the emergency flood protection projects in the Karkh area,” police said.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026