ISLAMABAD: Security forces recovered four out of six footballers who were kidnapped 20 days earlier in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, an official confirmed on Friday, vowing that the remaining two would also be recovered “soon.”
The local footballers, aged between 17 and 20, were abducted on Sept. 9 in the gas field town of Sui, in Dera Bugti district of Balochistan by unidentified armed men while they were on their way to a tournament.
“Security forces have recovered four out of six kidnapped football players in Dera Bugti, who were going to Sibi to participate in the qualifying round of the Chief Minister Gold Cup tournament,” Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani, Balochistan’s caretaker minister for sports and culture, said in a statement.
“The remaining two players will be recovered soon.”
He did not specify who kidnapped the footballers.
The names of the footballers recovered are Amir Bugti, Muhammad Yasir Bugti, Faisal Bugti and Sohail Bugti, Raisani said. The minister added that security forces were fulfilling their responsibilities and the recovery of the footballers was a result of the efforts of law enforcement agencies.
Ameer Baksh, father of the footballer Muhammad Yasir Bugti, confirmed his son was among the three other kidnapped players who had returned home safely.
“We were informed by the authorities that my son Muhammad Yasir has been recovered,” Bugti told Arab News over the phone from Dera Bugti. “We are happy that our children returned home.”
Bugti said he had neither received a call for ransom from any group nor had he paid anything for his son’s release.
Pakistan’s gas-rich Balochistan province has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists for around two decades. The separatists say they are fighting what they see as unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the state, a charge denied by Pakistani authorities.
Security forces recover 4 out of 6 kidnapped footballers in southwestern Pakistan — official
https://arab.news/yngn8
Security forces recover 4 out of 6 kidnapped footballers in southwestern Pakistan — official
- Unidentified armed men kidnapped footballers on Sept. 9 in southwestern Pakistan
- Balochistan government official says remaining two footballers to be recovered ‘soon’
Pakistan minister calls for integrating ocean awareness into education to preserve ecosystems
- Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record $360 million profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms
- Junaid Anwar Chaudhry says education equips youth to make informed decisions, contribute to blue economy
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has urged integrating ocean awareness into formal education systems and empowering youth as active partners in order to preserve marine ecosystems, his ministry said on Saturday.
Chaudhry said this at a meeting with Minister of State for Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar, who called on him and discussed strategies for enhancing marine education, literacy, and youth engagement in sustainable ocean management.
Pakistan’s maritime sector posted a record Rs100 billion ($360 million) profit in 2025 following a year of sweeping reforms aimed at improving port efficiency, cost-cutting, and safeguarding marine ecosystems to boost the blue economy.
“Understanding our oceans is no longer optional, it is essential for climate resilience, sustainable development, and the long-term health of our maritime resources,” Chaudhry said, highlighting the critical role of marine literacy.
The minister said education equips youth to make informed decisions and actively contribute to marine conservation and the blue economy, urging inclusion of marine ecosystems, conservation and human-ocean interactions into curricula, teacher training and global citizenship programs.
“Initiatives like ‘Ocean Literacy for All’ can mainstream these elements in national policies, school programs, and community workshops to build proactive citizenship on marine challenges,” he added.
Ocean Literacy for All is a UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission–coordinated global initiative under the UN Ocean Decade (2021–2030) that promotes ocean awareness, education, and conservation.
Chaudhry announced reforms in maritime education, including granting degree-awarding status to the Pakistan Marine Academy, and the establishment of the Maritime Educational Endowment Fund (MEEF) to provide scholarships for deserving children from coastal communities.
“The scholarship program promotes inclusive development by enabling access to quality education for youth from over 70 coastal and fishing communities, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan,” he said.
The discussions underscored raising awareness about oceans, coastal ecosystems and marine resources, according to the Pakistani maritime affairs ministry. Both ministers stressed the need to integrate climate and marine education from classrooms
to community programs, addressing risks like rising sea temperatures, coastal erosion, biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Incorporating marine science and ocean literacy into curricula can help students connect local challenges with global trends,” Qamar said, underscoring education’s transformative power in building social resilience.
The meeting explored translating complex marine science into accessible public knowledge through sustained, solution-oriented awareness campaigns, according to the maritime affairs ministry.
With coastline facing pressures from climate change, pollution, and overexploitation, the ministers called for a coordinated approach blending formal education, informal learning and youth-led advocacy.
“A joint effort by the Ministries of Maritime Affairs and Education can cultivate an ocean-literate generation, transforming vulnerability into resilience and ensuring the long-term sustainability of coastal and marine ecosystems,” Chaudhry said.
