Seven labourers from Punjab killed in Balochistan

QUETTA: Unknown armed men killed seven labourers belonging to Punjab in Khuda-i-Abadan area of Panjgur town late on Saturday night, police said.

Officials said that the incident took place in Muhalla Abdul Rehman where the labourers were living in a house which they were constructing.

Armed men barged into the house and opened indiscriminate fire with automatic weapons on the labourers who were in a room.” Seven labourers were killed on the spot and another injured in the firing,” Moazzam Jah Ansari, Inspector General Police, Balochistan, said, adding that they were working at the under-construction house of a person named Abu Bakar and were living in the same house.

Soon after receiving information about the incident, police and personnel of other law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to district hospital Panjgur. “All the labourers who lost their lives in the firing belong to Shujabad area of Multan district and Abu-Bakar brought them to Panjgur for the construction of his house in Khuda-i-Abadan area,” Fazil Shah Bokhari, the SSP Panjgur said.

“We have received seven bodies and an injured person in the hospital,” hospital officials said, adding that all the victims have received multiple bullet wounds which caused their instant death. The injured also received multiple bullet injuries and was admitted to the hospital.

Sources said that there were nine labourers and one of them remained save as he was not in the house when armed men opened fire on them while sleeping. The victims were identified as Sajid, Shafiq, Fayyaz, Iftikhar, Salman, Khalid and Allah Wasaya. The bodies were kept in the district hospital Panjgur. “It is a terrorist attack,” the SSP Panjgur said, adding that an investigation was in progress.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, meanwhile, strongly condemned the killings. The prime minister sought a report from the Balochistan chief minister and directed him to take all possible measures to bring the culprits to justice. “We are determined to eradicate terrorism from Pakistani soil,” the PM said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed deep sorrow and grief over the tragic killings. He strongly condemned the heinous act, stating that those responsible for firing on innocent labourers do not deserve any leniency. The interior minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice, ensuring that such incidents will not go unpunished.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti also condemned the attack. “Once again, innocent blood has been shed,” he said. He remarked that the terrorists are cowardly and inhumane and will be held accountable.