Search on as gunmen snatch nine laborers in twin Balochistan abductions

• Six kidnapped from Khuzdar water project, three from Barkhan area after armed men storm camps from nearby mountains, officials say

• Security forces launch search operations across affected districts

 QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen abducted nine laborers from two separate construction sites in Balochistan late Saturday, police and government officials said on Sunday, as security forces launched search operations to secure their safe recovery.

According to police, the first incident occurred on Saturday night in the mountainous district of Khuzdar, where armed men stormed a water channel construction site.

“Six laborers working for a private construction company were kidnapped after armed men attacked a water channel construction site in Mola, a mountainous town in Khuzdar,” Senior Superintendent of Police Shahzad Umar Abbas told Arab News.

He said the abducted laborers hailed from Sindh and Balochistan, adding that police teams had begun search operations to recover them.

The second incident also took place on Saturday night, when gunmen abducted three laborers from the Dola River area, located about 12 kilometres from Barkhan.

Barkhan Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Khosa said armed men emerged from nearby mountains at around 9:30 pm and kidnapped the laborers while they were inside their camp.

“Security forces have been pursuing the kidnappers, and search operations are under way for the safe recovery of the laborers,” Khosa told Arab News.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the abductions. However, the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has in the past claimed responsibility for abducting and killing laborers in the province.

In recent years, the BLA has primarily targeted laborers from Punjab and has, in some cases, killed them after conducting identity checks.

Balochistan, which shares porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, has long been plagued by militancy, with armed groups frequently targeting government officials, security forces, laborers and Chinese nationals.

The BLA launched a series of coordinated attacks across Balochistan on January 30–31, which claimed more than 50 lives, while the army said 216 militants were killed in the ensuing operations.