Pakistan: Five Workers from Punjab Killed in Pishin Shooting

Quetta (Terror Monitor) — Five workers from Punjab were killed and another was injured when unidentified armed militants opened fire near Saranan in Pishin district of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.

According to government officials, all the victims were laborers. Police said the men had been working at a grape orchard in Qila Abdullah district, where they were allegedly abducted before being taken to the area where they were shot.

A police official in Quetta, speaking on condition of anonymity, said unidentified armed men abducted the workers a day earlier and later shot them. Five were killed at the scene, while another survived with injuries.

Police said the bodies and the injured man were found in Sulemanzai near Saranan in Pishin. They were initially taken to a local hospital before the injured man and the bodies were later transported to Quetta.

Authorities said all the victims were from Punjab. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti and Provincial Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langau condemned the incident, saying that “elements hostile to peace have once again targeted innocent Pakistanis.”

They said those responsible would be brought to justice soon.

Balochistan Home Department media adviser Babar Yousafzai said militants were targeting workers and travelers as “soft targets.”

The incident comes days after an explosive attack on the Pishin police station in Saranan Bazaar last Friday damaged the building. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for that attack.