The security situation in Pakistan continues to be alarming after an attack in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province saw 20 miners being killed by armed men. This comes just days ahead of the high-profile SCO summit, chaired by Pakistan, in Islamabad. Various heads of state will be in attendance and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar will represent India at the summit on October 16 and 17.
Though the authorities have not yet confirmed whether it was a terrorist attack, reports claim the attackers used hand grenades and rocket launchers.
The incident happened on Friday at the Dukki area of the Balochistan province which borders Iran and Afghanistan, which houses over 10 coal miners.
The armed men first gathered the miners in different groups and then sprayed bullets on them, local media reports quoted district chairman Dukki Haji Khair Ullah Nasir. He added that the attackers also set ablaze mining machinery before fleeing the scene.
At least 20 miners were killed and eight others were wounded. The death toll may rise as some injured people were in critical condition.
The region has been witnessing violent insurgency as Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC projects. The insurgents demand a separate homeland and have accused Islamabad and China of exploiting the resource-rich province.
Terrorist attacks have shot up this year in Pakistan with the number of deaths in the first three months surpassing the entire figures recorded in 2023. As per the third Quarterly Report (Q3) issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the number of fatalities rose to at least 1,534 in the first three quarters of 2024 compared to 1,523 in 2023.
Earlier this week, two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 people injured in a suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers near Pakistan's busiest airport in Karachi.