KHUZDAR: Security guards of Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) president and MNA Sardar Akhtar Mengal on Wednesday foiled an attempt by three men to barge into in his house in the Wadh area and caught two of them.

According to reports, the incident took place at 12 noon when Mr Mengal was present in the house.

“Armed men attempted to barge into my house to attack me, but my security guards foiled their attempt,” he conformed in a tweet.

Mr Mengal said that weapons, explosives and two grenades were recovered from the possession of the detained men.

The third suspect managed to escape while the two were handed over to the Levies Force for investigation.

The senior vice president of BNP-Mengal, Wali Muhammad Kakar, and MNA Agha Hasan at a press conference put the blame on opponents for the attempted attack on their leader and condemned it.

They called upon the government to investigate the incident and expose the elements behind it.

Protesters block highway

Vehicular traffic between Khuzdar and Karachi was suspended on Wednesday after scores of people blocked the National Highway in the Killi Ibrahimzai area of Khuzdar district to protest against the kidnapping of a tribal elder earlier in the day.

Armed men kidnapped Haji Abdul Ghaffar Langove in the afternoon. After receiving news, hundreds of people gathered at the highway linking Quetta with Karachi, and blocked it by putting barricades and big boulders on the road.

As a result, hundreds of vehicles, including passenger coaches plying between Quetta and Karachi and trucks, were struck on the both sides of the highway.

The protesters warned of continuing the sit-in until Mr Langove was recovered.

The local administration was trying to restore traffic but remained unsuccessful till late night.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2018