At least 20 coal miners were killed, and seven others injured in an armed attack at a coal mine in Balochistan’s Duki district, officials said.
The attack took place at the Junaid Coal Company mine near Duki city in the early hours of Friday. According to police, a group of armed men launched the assault, using heavy weapons, including grenades and rockets.
“Unknown armed men attacked the coal miners in Duki, targeting them with automatic weapons and explosives,” said Station House Officer (SHO) Humayun Khan.
Four of those killed were Afghan nationals, while the remaining victims were from various regions of Balochistan, including Zhob, Qilla Saifullah, Pishin, Musa Khel, and Kuchlak, authorities confirmed.
A survivor of the attack, Hafizullah, claimed that the attackers were speaking Pashto and using a drone to monitor the area. “Drones were following us, and the attackers were Pashto speakers,” he said.
In addition to killing the workers, the attackers set fire to mining equipment, including 10 coal engines and other machinery.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Local journalist Abdul Hakeem Nasir reported that a protest is planned at Duki’s main square, and businesses in the city have been closed in mourning.
District Council Chairman Khairullah Nasir condemned the attack as “barbaric” and called for improved security measures to protect miners in the region.
The attack comes amid heightened tensions in Pakistan following a major operation by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, which garnered significant international attention. It also coincides with the ongoing ‘Pashtun National Jirga,’ a major political gathering of the Pashtun people.
In previous periods of heightened tension, Pakistani intelligence agencies have been accused of orchestrating attacks to divert attention from key political events. However, the perpetrators of this attack remain unknown.