QUETTA: Gunmen this week kidnapped a senior judge and set fire to a lower court in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan, police said on Tuesday.

The attack took place in the Maskan Kalat area of Kharan district while court hearings were underway. Armed men stormed the premises, ransacked records, destroyed furniture and briefly held court staff hostage before abducting Judge Qazi Ahmed Jan, according to police.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least-developed province, has for years faced a separatist insurgency that has intensified recently, with militants increasingly targeting security personnel, government offices, infrastructure and non-local residents.

In the latest attack, unidentified gunmen attacked the court on Monday morning, Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdul Haye Amir Baloch said.

“The gunmen set the court on fire and kidnapped a senior judge Qazi Ahmed Jan while he was inside the court and hearing the proceedings,” Baloch told Arab News.

“Search operation is continuing for the safe recovery of the kidnapped judge,” he added. “Police and other law enforcement agencies are pursuing the kidnappers.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and it is unclear if it was a militant attack.

This is not the first time a judge has been abducted in Pakistan. Last year, suspected militants kidnapped Judge Shakirullah Marwat in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while he was traveling from his hometown to Dera Ismail Khan. Marwat was later released. 

Islamabad has for years accused India of supporting militant groups to foment unrest in Pakistan, an allegation New Delhi denies.

Balochistan, rich in minerals and home to key China-Pakistan Economic Corridor routes and projects, has seen several high-profile attacks this year, including the hijacking of a passenger train in March and a May suicide bombing in Khuzdar that killed several children traveling to school.