Pakistan: Unidentified gunmen kill 3 coal miners in Balochistan and flee the scene

At least three coal miners were killed while they were working in the coalfield area of  Balochistan on August 23, Monday. According to the reports of the Dawn newspaper, unknown armed gunmen entered the coalfield area of the capital city of Balochistan and opened fire on three of the miners.

"The gunmen opened indiscriminate fire Monday night. Three young coal miners were killed on the spot as they suffered multiple bullet injuries," Gul Muhammad, a senior police officer of Hanna police station confirmed. Further, the reports of the Pakistani daily claimed that the attackers escaped after killing the miners as the security forces deployed at the nearby check-post could not act quickly due to weak mobile phone service in the hilly area.

The murder of 3 coal miners seems to be a case of target killing, says Police officer 

Meanwhile, a police official said that the murder could be a case of target killing. He said that the area was full of insurgents and the incidents of murder and loot have been increased tremendously in the region. It is worth mentioning that Balochistan is a resource-rich but less developed region of Pakistan where a movement for freedom has been continuing for the past several decades. The majority of Balochs believe that the province was independent before 1947 and was forcibly occupied by Pakistan. 

Incidents of murder and loot have increased tremendously

On August 22, a Pakistan Army captain was killed and two soldiers sustained injuries after their vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) established by unknown assailants in Balochistan's Gichik area. Earlier this week, two children were killed and four others, including a Chinese national, were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up along with a vehicle carrying Chinese citizens in Gwadar.

In its 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights, the US State Department underlined notable human rights issues in Pakistan, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The report stressed unlawful or arbitrary killings by the administration and forced disappearance of Pashtun, Sindhi and Baloch human rights activists.

(With inputs from ANI)

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