Deaths of 20 labourers in Balochistan coal mine attack trigger protests

Citizens and traders recorded their protest on Friday against the deadly rocket attack on coal mines in Balochistan's District Duki which left at least 20 miners dead and seven others injured. 

The attack came as the latest incident of violence in the southwestern province

The mineral-rich region borders Afghanistan and Iran has been troubled for decades due to frequent incidents of violence.

No group has yet claimed responsibility. 

"A group of armed men attacked the mines in the Duki area in the wee hours [of Friday] using heavy weapons,” said Humayun Khan, the police station house officer for the town, located east of the city of Quetta.

They fired rockets and grenades at the mines as well, he added.

Following the deadly attack, citizens staged a demonstration at Bacha Khan Chowk with the bodies of the slain miners.

Meanwhile, traders announced a shutter-down strike in the entire district in condemnation of the dastardly attack. All trade centres and markets remained closed across Duki on Friday.

The area surrounding the coal mines were cordoned off by the police and FC personnel and a search operation was launched soon after the attack.

Bodies of the slain miners and the injured were rushed to nearby medical facility, Teaching Hospital Loralai for medical care.

The police had initially reported the deaths of two miners but the death toll soared to 20 in the following hours, Medical Officer Dr Johar Sadozai confirmed.

As per the official, two of the deceased miners belonged to Pishin and two others were residents of Qila Saifullah while one of them was from Kuchlak and three others came for work from Afghanistan, according to the medial officer.

The owner of the coal mines, Haji Khairullah Nasir, said that the attackers not only carried out an assault on the mining site but also set the machinery on fire.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack and sought a report from the authorities concerned on the matter and reiterated his government’s resolve to purge the country of terrorism.

He expressed deep grief over the loss of lives and conveyed his sympathies to the families of the slain miners.

Taking notice of the matter, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the incident and ordered action against the "terrorists" involved in the attack.

"Terrorists working on the agenda of destablising Pakistan. Labourers are soft targets in cowardly attacks by terrorists," he said, pledging to punish the elements involved in such activities.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, mostly in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also in southwestern Balochistan, which abuts Afghanistan and Iran.

Against this backdrop, the federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.