Armed men reportedly established checkpoints on sections of the Quetta–Taftan highway passing through Noshki, Dalbandin and Mastung, with regional sources claiming that traffic movement on parts of the route remained disrupted amid ongoing armed activity in the area.
According to local sources, armed individuals during a blockade in the Mill area of Noshki on Tuesday evening detained 17 individuals allegedly associated with the Reko Diq mining project. The identities of those detained have not yet been confirmed officially. However, sources stated that the individuals were linked to companies involved in mineral extraction projects operating in Balochistan.
The incident comes amid a recent surge in attacks targeting vehicles transporting minerals and convoys escorted by Pakistani armed forces and law-enforcement personnel across several districts of Balochistan.
Last week in Noshki, armed attackers reportedly targeted more than twenty trailer trucks transporting gold and other minerals from Saindak. The vehicles, accompanied by Pakistani armed forces personnel providing security, came under rocket and gunfire attacks. Regional sources stated that at least eight vehicles were destroyed while several Pakistani security personnel were reportedly killed in the assault.
Similar incidents were also reported in Kharan and Mastung. In Kharan’s Armag area, unidentified armed men set fire to two trucks transporting minerals, while in Mastung three vehicles carrying minerals were reportedly torched during separate incidents.
Meanwhile, sources from Dalbandin stated that three individuals associated with a mineral extraction company were also detained by armed men earlier this week.
Transport associations in Balochistan have since announced a suspension of mineral loading operations following repeated attacks on trucks transporting chromite, marble and other minerals through various districts including Mastung, Kharan, Noshki and Chagai. Representatives of transport owners’ associations stated that truck owners had suffered heavy financial losses after multiple vehicles were burned or damaged in recent attacks.
In a statement issued following previous attacks, the armed organisation Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for targeting vehicles transporting minerals and convoys guarded by Pakistani armed forces, alleging that the operations were linked to the extraction of Balochistan’s natural resources.
The group’s spokesperson, Jeeyand Baloch, stated that the organisation had expanded its activities along the Quetta–Taftan highway and would prevent the movement of trucks and convoys transporting minerals through areas under its influence.
The recent developments follow earlier attacks on mining-related projects in Chagai district. In April, armed attackers targeted a copper and gold mining site operated by National Resources Limited in the Darigwan area of Chagai, where multiple workers and security personnel were killed, according to company officials and district authorities.
The latest incident involving the road blockade and the abduction of the workers had not been claimed by any group at the time of writing this report.