Karachi Football Team Robbed At Gunpoint By Insurgents On Balochistan Highway

A football team travelling from Karachi to Quetta was robbed at gunpoint by insurgents between Mastung and Sariab on the Balochistan province highway.

The Karachi District West team was en route to participate in the Chief Minister's Gold Cup tournament when a dozen armed men intercepted their bus on the highway and snatched their mobile phones, cash and other valuables.

Team manager Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto recounted the ordeal: "The armed men asked all the passengers to disembark from the bus and then took away all mobile phones, cash, and other valuables. They also butted some of the passengers."

The incident occurred on Monday evening. Upon reaching Quetta, the team informed the Balochistan sports minister of the robbery, which left the players without any money. The minister swiftly intervened to provide the players with daily allowances.

Muhammad Azam, secretary of the Sindh Football Association — an affiliated unit of the Pakistan Football Federation — stated that the team travelled against official warnings.

"We didn't send the Sindh team and we advised all other clubs in Karachi to avoid going to Quetta by bus or train because of the security situation. The Karachi west team still went ahead and what we feared happened," Muhammad Azam said.

He said that Punjab and KPK associations had also not sent teams for the event.

Few days back two local cricketers were also abducted from Dera Bugti.

The highway linking Mastung district to Quetta has become a hot spot for insurgent groups to loot travellers.