QUETTA: The son of the Balochistan local bodies` minister is feared to have been kidnapped as he has been missing since Friday night and his car has been found abandoned.

According to family and police, Asad Khan Tareen, 28, son of Sardar Mustafa Khan Tareen, went to the Cadet College Pishin on Friday afternoon, where he worl
His father informed police and Levies Force about his disappearance.

Security forces found Asad Khan`s car abandoned on Surkhab Road near the college and took it into custody.

`Asad Khan may have been kidnapped while returning home from the college,` police officials said. His family shared the apprehension.

According to the college staff, officials said, Asad Khan had left the institute for home late at night as perhis routine.

Sources said that his mobile phone was not responding as it was switched off.

Security forces launched search operations in dif ferent areas of Pishin and Qila Abdullah districts and detained some suspects. They also conducted raids in an Afghan refugee camp in Surkhab area and picked up some suspects.

Personnel of police, Levies Force and Frontier Corps have launched a joint search operation in areas close to the Afghan border.

IG of Balochistan Ahsan Mehboob has constituted two teams headed by the regional police officer of Quetta and the DIG crime to ascertain whereabouts of Asad Khan.

Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri have expressed concern over the `kidnapping` of Asad Khan and directed the high-ups of law enforcement agencies to trace him.

Sources said that the kidnappers had not yet established contact with Asad Khan`s family.

Sardar Mustafa Khan, the influential chief of Tareen tribe, has approached tribal elders of Pishin and Qila Abdullah districts to seek their help in the recovery of his son.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan government has put on high alert law enforcement agencies, including intelligence agencies, in the areas located on Afghan border and ordered the authorities concerned to extend search operation to Loralai district.

Provincial Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti convened a meeting in Pishin to discuss measures for early and safe recovery of Asad Khan. The meeting was attended, among others, by Home Secretary Dr Akbar Haripal, the IG, the deputy commissioners and the district police officers of Pishin and Qila Abdullah and Mustafa Khan Tareen.

Law enforcement agencies have launched operations in different areas after blocking routes leading to the border area and detained 18 suspects, Pishin DPO Abdul Hayee Baloch said.