Terrorists kill 20 coal miners in Pakistan's Balochistan

Twenty coal miners have been shot dead in an overnight attack on their lodgings in Pakistan's Balochistan province, police say.

"At around 1930 GMT, 35 to 40 plain-clothed, heavily armed men fired at coal miners for half an hour before escaping into the night," Asim Shafi, head of police in Duki district where the attack happened, told AFP news agency on Friday.

"They had rocket launchers and hand grenades with them."

The latest attack in the restive Balochistan province came days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital.

Another police official said that the gunmen stormed the accommodations at the coal mine in Duki district on Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire.

Most of the men attacked were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan.

Angered over the attack, local shop owners pulled their shutters down to observe a daylong strike against the killing.

No group claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, but the suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which often targets civilians and security forces.

Authorities say police and paramilitary forces are searching for the attackers.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep sorrow over the killings and vowed to eliminate terrorism.

Targeting labourers

Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan said “terrorists have once again targeted poor labourers."

He said the attackers were cruel and had an agenda to destabilise Pakistan. “The killing of these innocent labourers would be avenged,” he said in a statement.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also said those who killed the labourers would not be able to escape from the grip of the law.

Islamabad is hosting a summit next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a grouping founded by China and Russia.

Authorities have beefed up security in the capital by deploying troops to prevent any acts of terrorism.

The killings of miners came hours after Saudi and Pakistani businessmen signed 27 memorandums of understanding valued at $2 billion for investment across various sectors, including mining in oil and gas-rich Balochistan.

Saudi Arabia also wants to invest in Reko Diq, a district in Balochistan which is famed for its mineral wealth, including gold and copper.

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Source: TRT