A woman, allegedly kidnapped from Balochistan’s Khuzdar district, was recovered from Zehri Tehsil of the district, confirmed deputy commissioner on Saturday.
Talking to journalists, Khuzdar’s deputy commissioner said that at least 14 suspects, including two nominated in the FIR, were taken into custody.
Earlier in the day, a province-wide strike and protests broke out across Balochistan in response to the alleged abduction of a woman from Khuzdar, with markets completely shut down in several cities.
Protests and roadblocks continued across the province for three days as demonstrators voiced outrage over the alleged abduction.
According to police, the woman’s family had filed a case, leading to the arrest of one suspect.
The protests expanded beyond Khuzdar, with demonstrations, strikes, and road closures reported in various cities.
In Sorab, a complete shutter-down strike was observed, with all commercial centres closed. Meanwhile, in Mastung, the Quetta-Sukkur National Highway at Dasht remained blocked for over 13 hours, leaving commuters stranded in the harsh winter cold.
Balochistan CM Sarfaraz Bugti said that strict action was being taken on the matter and he was personally supervising the investigations. He said the police chief had been directed to show no leniency towards anyone.
The police had registered a case against two suspects on behalf of the abducted the woman’s brother on Friday.
Balochistan MPA Agha Umar Ahmedzai and some other lawmakers from the opposition benches had staged a walk out from the provincial assembly in protest.
Provincial Minister for Irrigation Sadiq Imrani also condemned the incident, saying that the safety of citizens’ life and property was the government’s responsibility.
Moreover, Balochistan High Court Bar also condemned the kidnapping, saying that such incidents were equivalent to challenging the government’s writ.