QUETTA: In a daring attack, unknown assailants attacked a Qazi Court in the Kharan area of Balochistan, and kidnapped the judge after setting the building on fire.
Senior police officials told Dawn a group of armed men stormed into the Qazi Court building in the Maskan Kalat area, about 30 kilometres from Kharan city, at around 11:30am, while the judge was hearing cases.
They held Judge Muhammad Jan and other court staff hostage, ransacking records and damaging office furniture and other items on the premises.
“Armed terrorists stormed into the court and set the courtroom and other sections of the Qazi Court on fire,” Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rakhshan region, Abdul Hayee Aamir Baloch, told Dawn.
The court building was gutted, and the attackers also destroyed the court’s records.
While fleeing after torching the courtroom and other offices, the assailants kidnapped the judge at gunpoint. “The terrorists kidnapped the Qazi Court judge and also made off with two vehicles, including the judge’s official vehicle and that of a lawyer,” DIG Baloch said.
Security forces, including the Frontier Corps, rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the incident. They cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace those involved in the attack and the kidnapping. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.
