Gunmen shot dead five Pakistani police and abducted six other people, including a top administrator, in the volatile southwest bordering Afghanistan and Iran, officials said on Wednesday.
The incidents took place overnight in the Aab-e-Gum area of the mountainous Bolan region, 60 kilometres (38 miles) south of Quetta, the capital of oil- and gas-rich Baluchistan province.
"Gunmen wearing fake paramilitary uniforms erected barricades on the main highway in Aab-e-Gum and shot dead five policemen, who were heading towards Quetta," Baluchistan's home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said.
He said the gunmen also abducted the deputy head of administration in Jhal Magsi town, Shaukat Murghazani, another two civilians and three policemen on the same highway late Tuesday.
"The gunmen allowed family members of Murghazani also travelling with him to go," Durrani said.
Police official Junaid Ahmad confirmed the incidents and said there had been no claim of responsibility.
Impoverished Baluchistan is wracked by an insurgency waged by ethnic Baluch tribes seeking greater autonomy from the federal government and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.
Last October, Amnesty International called on Pakistan to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 Baluch political leaders and activists against a backdrop of Pakistani military activities in the province.
{{/usCountry}}Last October, Amnesty International called on Pakistan to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 Baluch political leaders and activists against a backdrop of Pakistani military activities in the province.
{{/usCountry}}The region has also been hit by attacks blamed on Taliban militants, although sabotage of gas pipelines are a trademark of nationalist rebels.