Pakistani police are searching the country's southwestern Baluchistan province in hopes of finding two Swiss tourists kidnapped at gun point.

Pakistani officials said Saturday that they had reached out to tribal elders in the region to seek their help.

The Swiss tourists – a man and a woman – had been traveling through the region by car. Pakistani officials say they registered at a checkpoint before entering Baluchistan's Lorali district where witnesses said they were abducted Friday.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed to the Associated Press Saturday that two of its citizens had been kidnapped, saying it was the first such incident involving Swiss citizens in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials said they believe the couple may have been headed to the provincial capital of Quetta.

Baluchistan has long been home to a low-level separatist insurgency and criminal gangs have been known to kidnap foreigners for ransom.