ZIARAT/KANDKOT: Assistant Commissioner (AC) Ziarat, Muhammad Afzal, who had been missing for more than a month, was found dead in the Zardalo area of Harnai district on Sunday, Levies officials confirmed.
According to Risaldar Muhammad Imran Damar of Levies Headquarters Ziarat, two bodies were discovered in the area, one of which has been identified as the slain officer. The second body has not yet been confirmed, though officials suspect it to be that of Afzal’s son, who was abducted alongside him. Authorities said facial identification was not possible and confirmation will only be made after the bodies are examined at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Harnai.
AC Afzal and his son were kidnapped on August 10 from the tourist spot Zizari in Ziarat. A banned Baloch organisation had earlier claimed responsibility for the abduction.
Just a day before the recovery of the bodies, the abductors released a video showing the Assistant Commissioner delivering their demands to the Balochistan government.
The Harnai district administration has taken possession of the bodies and shifted them to DHQ Hospital, where formal identification of the second victim is awaited.
In a separate incident, two bandits were killed during an exchange of fire with police in Kandhkot following the abduction of a policeman by a criminal gang.
According to SSP Murad Ghanghro, police launched an operation against the Bahalkani dacoit group after they kidnapped a policeman on Saturday. “Two bandits were killed and three others injured in the shootout,” he said, identifying the deceased as Shafique Dahani and Sohbat Jagirani.
The SSP added that the operation would continue until the safe recovery of the abducted policeman.
Local sources reported that the gang had attacked a police check post in the jurisdiction of B-Section police station, opening indiscriminate fire on officers and nearby shops before fleeing into the katcha area along the Indus River with the kidnapped cop.
The riverine belt has long been a hotbed of criminal activity, where heavily armed gangs continue to challenge state authority through kidnappings for ransom, robberies, and violent attacks.
