Seven labourers from Punjab shot dead in Gwadar in another ghastly act

F.P. Report

GWADAR : In a fresh act of terrorism in Balochistan, unidentified gunmen shot dead seven labourers from Punjab in a targeted attack in Sarbandar area of Gwadar on Thursday, police officials said. 

This is the second incident of attack on people from Punjab in the last one month. On April 13, armed men shot dead nine people hailing from Punjab after abducting them from a bus in Noshki. 

According to Gwadar SHO Mohsin Ali, unidentified assailants on Thursday entered a residential quarter near Fish Harbour in the dead of night and opened indiscriminate fire, killing seven people and injuring another. 

The incident, according to the station house officer, occurred around 3am when the occupants of the residential quarter were asleep. 

He said the victims, hailing from Punjab’s Khanewal district, were barbers by profession and worked in a salon in Sarbandar area. 

Following the attack, a police party reached the crime scene and cordoned off the area. 

The bodies were transferred to a morgue for autopsy, and the injured was taken to the Gwadar Hospital for medical assistance. 

A case has been registered against unidentified assailants, and an investigation is under way. 

What happened on April 13 

Gunmen shot dead nine people hailing from Punjab after abducting them from a passenger bus in Noshki. Two persons were killed and five others wounded when the miscreants opened fire on another vehicle. 

According to Noshki Deputy Commissioner Habibullah Mosakhel, the gunmen blocked Quetta-Noshki-Taftan N-40 Highway near Sultan Charhai area and started searching the vehicles. 

They opened fire on a vehicle when it did not stop due to which two people were killed and five others wounded. Brother of MPA Ghulam Dastagir Badini was among the injured. The deceased were residents of Noshki. 

The gunmen also abducted nine passengers from a bus by checking their identity cards and fled towards the nearby mountains. Later, they shot dead the abductees and dumped their bodies near a bridge. The deceased belonged to various cities of Punjab.

CONDEMNATIONS  

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the terrorist attack, expressing deep sorrow over the death of seven people. 

He extended heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families, stating that the government stood in solidarity with them in this moment of grief. 

Naqvi emphasised that those who played with the lives of innocent people did not deserve to be called humans and vowed complete eradication of terrorism. 

Condemning the killing of innocent labourers, Balochistan Interior Minister Mir Zia Langau sought a report on the incident. 

The minister described the killing of defenceless innocent labourers as a cowardly act, and assured that the provincial government would deal with the terrorists sternly and bring them to justice.

According to a spokesperson for the provincial government, administrative officers reached the scene of the incident and coordinated with the district administration.

He added that efforts were being made to contact the families of the deceased labourers.