Five Punjab Workers Shot Dead by Unidentified Gunmen in Balochistan’s Washuk
Quetta: Five men from Pakistan’s Punjab province were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in the Mashkayl area of Washuk district, Balochistan, on Sunday, local authorities said.
Deputy Commissioner Washuk, Majid Sarparah, said the attackers opened fire on shops where Punjabi laborers were working near the Iranian border. All five workers were killed in the attack, and the assailants fled the scene immediately afterward.
Authorities said the victims belonged to different districts of Punjab. After completing the required legal formalities, the bodies are being transported to their hometowns for burial.
Officials said an investigation has been launched into the incident. While suspicion has fallen on outlawed Baloch militant groups that have claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past, no organization has claimed responsibility for the latest shooting.
Reacting to the incident, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the killings, saying the victims were not merely Punjabi laborers but Pakistani citizens, hardworking people, and “our brothers.”
He described the attack as an assault on Pakistan’s unity, Constitution, and the authority of the state rather than on any single province or ethnic group. The Chief Minister said that militants hiding behind the banner of a so-called freedom movement had exposed their true intentions by targeting unarmed workers.
Mir Sarfraz Bugti vowed that those responsible, along with anyone facilitating such attacks, would be brought to justice. He reiterated that Pakistan would continue its fight against terrorism until all militant groups are eliminated and that no attempt to undermine the state’s writ would be tolerated.
