by Admin
Oct 12, 2024
Twenty miners were killed and seven others wounded when gunmen attacked a coal mine in Duki province south of Pakistan which has been widely condemned by the Pakistani government.
According to the report by a local police officer, Hamayun Khan Nasir, the miners who were resting in their accommodation were rounded up by the unknown gunmen and fired upon.
He said the attackers also fired rockets and lobbed grenades at the mine and damaged the machinery before fleeing the mine.
The attack occurred days before a major security summit being hosted in the capital, Islamabad is to host a summit next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group founded by China and Russia to counter Western alliances.
According to further reports most of the casualties were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan while three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan nationals.
Prodesq gathered that no terrorist organization has come forward to claim responsibility for the heinous attack on the miners.
The local residents of Duki province have however pointed fingers at the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which targets civilians and security forces.
It was reported that in August that the Baloch Liberation Army launched multiple attacks in which more than 50 people were killed which included 23 people, who were from eastern Punjab province, were fatally shot after being taken from buses, vehicles and trucks in Musakhail district in Balochistan.
Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan province said “terrorists have once again targeted poor laborers … The killing of these innocent laborers will be avenged”.
Mohsin Naqvi, the Interior minister has assured that those who are responsible for the gruesome death of the laborers would not escape from the grip of the law.
Authorities have increased security in the capital by deploying troops.
The attack on the miners came hours after Saudi and Pakistani businessmen signed a contract of 27 investment agreements valued at $2 billion across various sectors, including mining in Balochistan.