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Thursday March 28, 2024

No clue of Chinese couple kidnapped from Quetta

By Web Desk
May 25, 2017

QUETTA: Balochsitan government spokesman said on Thursday that investigations into the kidnapping of a Chinese couple from the provincial capital are underway however, no group has yet claimed the responsibility.

Two Chinese working in Pakistan were kidnapped by armed men pretending to be policemen around midday on Wednesday.

We are seeing it from all angles including RAW-funded elements behind the kidnapping, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, a Balochistan government spokesman said

"A Chinese couple was kidnapped from the neighbourhood of Jinnah Town in Quetta today," senior local police official Aitzaz Goraya told AFP. "They were dragged into a vehicle without number plates by three unknown men," he said. One Chinese woman managed to escape as the men began firing in the air to scare off onlookers.

A passer-by, Muhammad Zahir, was shot as he tried to prevent the abduction. He told AFP he saw three men forcing a Chinese woman into a white car but she was resisting and crying.

"I stopped to observe the situation but they had forced the woman in the car by then and were pushing the man. So I rushed to them and asked what they were doing. One of them said, ‘We are from the Crime Branch of the police and we are taking them for investigation’ and I told them that they should not misbehave with people. Then the driver came out and shot me in my leg," the 35-year-old said.

Deputy chief of mission in Islamabad Zhao Lijian said the embassy was working towards their release.

He said the pair had been studying Urdu at a language centre. Local police had earlier said they were teaching Chinese.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but in the past militant groups have kidnapped foreigners in Pakistan to seek ransom or drum up publicity for their cause. The Quetta police chief said the couple did not work on the Beijing-funded China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and therefore they did not have guards. Another Chinese woman narrowly evaded the kidnappers, he added.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Khan Zehri strongly condemned the kidnapping and ordered the provincial police chief to take all measures for their recovery as soon as possible. He also suspended the concerned police officials including Deputy Superintendent of Police and SHOs of Jinnah Town and Gawalmandi for their negligence.