Police have recovered the woman who was abducted in Balochistan’s Khuzdar earlier this week and urged the protesters to clear the road.

“The task was completed on technical grounds,” Khuzdar DIG Sohail Khalid told reporters at a press conference on Saturday.

Aasma was abducted in the wee hours of February 6 from her house by at least 15 to 20 women, according to her brother.

The 27-year-old woman’s family blocked the Quetta-Karachi highway in protest against the abduction and demanded “immediate recovery” of the girl and kidnappers’ arrest.

Earlier in the day, a video of the girl surfaced on social media. But her brother denied such statements. He alleged that such statements were made under duress. “After the release of this video, the administration and government can no longer claim that the criminals cannot be traced.”

At least 16 suspects were arrested over the last two days, according to the police. SHO Sohail said that the incident was a “matter of concern” for the whole province. He admitted that the police were under pressure.

“I want to say that the plaintiff instead of reporting to police blocked the road with the help of the tribe and closed the road. When we asked for the FIR they took a lot of time and wasted time,” he said and added that in such situations the primary job is to clear the road.

SHO Sohail added that details of suspects shared by the complainant made the task easy. “They were notorious and gone missing by shutting down their phones. They have been involved in criminal activities.”

He added that “old contacts” helped trace the suspects. “We had the support of intelligence agencies and they gave us technical things and supported us.” According to the SHO, at least 15 men were interrogated followed by geo-fencing.

“We tapped suspects and got the information that they are in Zehri and will be moved. It was important information. We sent a team to the site. Kidnappers ran away after watching the police coming. Then we recovered the woman.”

Sohail said that the woman would be handed over to the family after legal work

“Hopefully, the family will be relieved and open the road. Whoever abducted the woman would be arrested. Our next agenda is that the rest of the suspects. We will not sit idle and police will try their best to arrest them.”