10 labourers martyred near Chinese projects in Gwadar

GWADAR: Ten labourers were martyred and 25 injured in Pushkan and Gunt areas of Gwadar after unidentified people opened fire on them  on Saturday.

According to Commissioner Makran Division Bashir Bangulzai, unidentified men opened fire on the labourers, who were busy in construction of a wall in far-flung areas of Gwadar.

As per the reports, the attackers targeted labourers in the head. The incidents took place in the area of Pushkan and Gunt in Gwadar, where the labourers were working on construction projects near Chinese development projects. The victims are said to be the natives of Naushahro Feroze, Sindh.

Sources added that the site of the incident had been cordoned off by security forces and a sweeping operation was underway.

According to official sources, the attackers managed to flee the crime scene. The FC and other law enforcement agencies’ personnel rushed to the crime scenes after receiving news of the incidents.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has reportedly claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sanaullah Khan Zehri has condemned the killing of innocent workers. The chief minister has also expressed his condolences with the grieved families. In a message, the Balochistan CM said that the conspiracy of creating obstacles in the way of progress and prosperity in Balochistan would be foiled at all costs. He said that innocent labourers had been targeted which showed the cowardice of the terrorists. He said the terrorists had targeted the labourers on the directions of their ‘foreign masters’.

Zehri asserted that terrorists would be targeted in their dens and would be given exemplary punishment. He said that every conspiracy against the progress of Gwadar would be thwarted. The Balochistan CM ordered the concerned officials to arrest the perpetrators involved in this heinous attack.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti told a news channel that terrorists attacked the labourers in two different areas of the city. Bugti said that the terrorists martyred Pakistanis. The minister vowed to arrest the perpetrators of this incident, adding that most of the victims were from Sindh.

He said that terrorists had not killed any Sindhi or Punjabi but they have martyred Pakistanis. He said that this was an effort to destabilise Pakistan, adding that this was a RAW-funded act.

Bugti said that India and RAW were not happy with the economic stability of Pakistan. He said that Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was present in Beijing and enemies of Pakistan wanted to tell the world that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project was not safe.

The minister said that the incident was a conspiracy to create ethnic and communal divide in Pakistan. Bugti said, “Being a Baloch, I condemn this incident and I stand with the Sindhi brethren in this hour of grief. We are not ready to tolerate this and perpetrators would be brought to justice.”

It is important to note that nine out of ten labourers, killed in this terrorist attack, belonged to the Naushahro Feroze district of Sindh.

Those who were brutally killed had been identified as Asif Ali, Zaheer Ahmed, Abdul Hakim, Muhammad Khan, Ali Dost, Rasool Bux, Koral Khan, Sadam Lakho and Waheed Brohi. All of them belonged to village Siddique Lakho of district Naushahro Feroze. One dead body is yet to be identified.

Our correspondent adds from Nawabshah: 

The bodies of nine martyrs of Gwadar terrorist incident arrived at the Nawabshah Airport through C-130 plane. The bodies were then shifted to their ancestral village Siddique Lakho of Naushahro Feroze district.

The relatives of martyrs were present in large numbers at the airport to receive the bodies of their loved ones with tears in their eyes. They told media that 50 people had gone to Gwadar to earn livelihood as the lands in their village had been deserted due to waterlogging and salinity.

They said that two of them, Rasool Bux and Abdul Hakim, were real brothers, while others were relatives and belonged to the same village. They added, “The others who are killed include Asif Ali, Zaheer Ahmed, Muhammad Khan, Ali Dost, Rasool Bux, Koral Khan, Sadam Lakho and Waheed Brohi.”

Relatives said that Zaheer Ahmed and Asif Ali got married one month ago, while Saddam and Rasool Bux were going to marry soon and the villagers were already preparing to celebrate.

They demanded exemplary punishment for the terrorists. They said that they were proud that the blood of their loved ones was included in the development of Pakistan. They said that they were voters of the Pakistan People’s Party but no MNA, MPA or even a councillor had turned up to express solidarity with them.