A government official says gunmen abducted two female Czech tourists in a troubled province in Pakistan. Abdul Qadus says the women were traveling from Iran to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province, when they were seized on Wednesday. He said Thursday the women were given a police guard to escort them on a passenger bus. But the policeman was no match for the eight to 10 gunmen who stopped them in Chaghi district near the Iran and Afghanistan borders.

Qadus says the gunmen took the captives to Afghanistan. They disarmed the policeman and released him. Qadus is the top government official in Chaghi.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Baluchistan is home to separatists who have been waging a violent insurgency against the government and also many Islamist militants.