QUETTA: Gunmen kidnapped a French tourist in Pakistan on Saturday, snatching him from a group of compatriots, who included women and children, in Balochistan, police said.

The 41-year-old man was kidnapped in an area where ethnic Baloch separatist groups are known to operate.

Six kidnappers armed with Kalashnikovs stopped the two French men, two women and two children travelling by car near Landi, a small town around 200 kilometres east of the Iranian border, said police officer Merrullah.

The six tourists had left Quetta and were heading for Iran, said Karar Shah, another police officer also from Dal Bandin, where the tourists alerted the Pakistani authorities to the abduction.

“The incident happened near Landi and the French told us six men armed with Kalashnikovs stopped them and then one of them was taken away at gunpoint in a vehicle,” Shah told AFP. The kidnappers ordered the rest of the party to continue their journey.

Police said the other French man was not targeted because he was handicapped and that the children were aged two and five years old.

Contacted by AFP, the French embassy in Islamabad said it was unable to either confirm or deny the incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction. -Agencies

“The incident happened near Landi and the French told us six men armed with Kalashnikovs stopped them and then one of them was taken away at gunpoint in a vehicle,” Shah told AFP.

The kidnappers ordered the rest of the party to continue their journey. Police said the other French man was not targeted because he was handicapped and that the children were aged two and five years old.

Contacted by AFP, the French embassy in Islamabad said it was unable to either confirm or deny the incident. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction.

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