Gunmen launched an attack on a camp in the southwestern region of Pakistan and abducted 20 laborers over the weekend. This incident marks the second assault in as many days in the restive Balochistan province, where separatist and militant groups continue to escalate their insurgency against the central government.
The assistant commissioner of Musa Khel district, Dilraj Kalara, reported that the armed assailants entered the camp during the early hours of Sunday. They proceeded to set fire to bulldozers and other equipment before taking the workers captive.
The laborers were residing in a camp established by a private energy company, according to Kalara. The separatists allege that Islamabad is exploiting the oil and mineral resources in Balochistan unfairly, to the detriment of local inhabitants.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions, nor for the killing of seven men who were shot to death at their rented residence one day earlier in Panjgur town, also located in Balochistan.
The seven victims, all belonging to Punjab in eastern Pakistan and from the same family, were targeted. Separatists have a history of attacking individuals from Punjab in an attempt to compel them to depart from the southwest region.
Following the Saturday killings, Punjab’s Information and Culture Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari expressed deep concern over the incident. Bokhari demanded that the chief minister take decisive measures to ensure the safety of individuals from Punjab and to combat those who target them.
One survivor, Imran, managed to escape the attack by fleeing while on the phone when the gunfire erupted. A relative, Mudassir Aslam, conveyed that three of the victims were on the brink of marriage, and their families were actively preparing for the weddings at the time of the tragic event.
The news of the tragedy caused a wave of shock and devastation among their relatives, with Mudassir comparing the impact to that of an explosion. Investigations into the incidents are ongoing, with contributions to the report provided by Babar Dogar in Lahore and Asim Tanveer in Multan.