Son of CM’s special assistant rescued; five 'kidnappers', including cop, killed

KARACHI: The son of a special assistant to the Sindh chief minister was rescued after police gunned down five of his alleged kidnappers at the Northern Bypass on Wednesday night.

Special Assistant for Katchi Abadis and Spatial Development Ghulam Murtaza Baloch’s son, Ghulam Hayat Baloch, was abducted from the Super Highway area late Monday night. 

Malir SSP Rao Anwar said one of the kidnappers was a police officer — Mukhtiar Ali — based in Shikarpur.

Anwar said the police traced the victim through ground surveillance and technical assistance, adding that when the rescue team arrived on the site, the kidnappers opened fire on them.

The SSP said the law enforcers retaliated and after an exchange of fire, they killed the five abductors and rescued the victim.

In a statement following the successful recovery of Baloch, Karachi police chief Additional Inspector General Ghulam Qadir Thebo appreciated SSP Anwar’s efforts and announced a Rs100,000 cash reward for the SSP and his team.

Baloch was returning home to Defence with his cousin and other family members after attending a dinner in his hometown of Haji Faqeer Muhammad Wadhelo Goth in Gadap Town when he was abducted.

SHO Khan Nawaz said Baloch’s cousin, Akhlaq Ahmed, told the police that a group of six men appeared in front of their car at around 11pm. “They let everyone, except Hayat, leave.” The victim, a permanent resident of London, had arrived in Karachi a few days ago. The kidnappers were aware of the route he was going to take to return to Defence.

SSP Anwar had told The News on Tuesday night that the police had managed to locate Murtaza. He said the Anti-Violent Crime Cell had tracked the group involved in the abduction. He said Murtaza was kidnapped from an area that was near Hub, and the police had set up checkpoints to avoid his transportation to Balochistan.

Earlier, Home Minister Suhail Siyal had taken notice of the abduction and ordered expediting the efforts to rescue the victim. 

Moreover, Ghulam Murtaza Baloch had told the media that he had no enmity with anyone, saying that the kidnappers had not attempted to contact him since the abduction. 

He had appealed to the president, prime minister, army chief and the provincial chief executive to take measures to rescue his son from the abductors.

This report was originally published in The News

Originally published in The News