Suspected militants kill 7 labourers in Balochistan

At least seven ethnic Punjabi labourers were killed on Sunday by suspected militants in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province in the latest incident of targeted killing in the volatile region.

The workers were employed for the construction of a house in Khuda-i-Abadan area of Panjgur town, the police said.

The victims belonged to Punjab province’s Multan district and they were sleeping under the same roof at the time of the attack.

The attackers armed with automatic weapons entered the premises and opened indiscriminate fire.

“Seven labourers were killed on the spot and another was injured in the firing,” Inspector General Police Moazzam Jah Ansari told Dawn.

The victims have been identified as Sajid, Shafiq, Fayyaz, Iftikhar, Salman, Khalid and Allah Wasia.

Nobody claimed responsibility but Panjgur SSP Fazil Shah Bokhari said “it is a terrorist attack” and added that investigation was launched.

President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned that attack, while the PM also sought a report from Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti. He also reiterated his resolve to take all possible measures to root out terrorism.

The attack is one of a series of such incidents in which Baloch militants target Punjabi workers in the province.

The militants allege that the Punjabi-dominated establishment was depriving the province of its mineral wealth, a charge denied by the authorities.

In the last such incident, the rebels killed at least 23 people in Musakhel district of the province in August. The armed men offloaded passengers from trucks and buses and shot them after checking their identities.