The attackers stormed the miners’ lodging late Thursday evening, rounded up the employees, and opened fireplace, police official Hamayun Khan Nasir stated, in response to The Specific Tribune. In addition they fired rockets and grenades, damaging mining gear earlier than fleeing the scene.
The assault has sparked widespread condemnation, with authorities launching a manhunt for the perpetrators.
To date, no group has claimed accountability for the assault, which is the deadliest in weeks.
The violence comes simply days earlier than a significant safety summit in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and because the nation hosts a Saudi delegation focused on mining investments.
It additionally coincides with the signing of $2 billion value of agreements between Saudi and Pakistani businessmen for investments in varied sectors, together with mining.
Balochistan, wealthy in oil and minerals, has lengthy been a hotbed of separatists. These teams accuse the federal authorities of exploiting the province’s sources with out benefiting native communities.
A number of of their assaults have been directed at migrant staff, a lot of whom are employed by smaller, privately run mines.