A tiny private coal mine in the Duki district of Balochistan was attacked by armed men on Friday, leaving at least 20 miners dead and seven injured, according to authorities.
The incident occurs in Balochistan amid increased security worries.
According to Duki Station House Officer (SHO) Humayun Khan, “a group of armed men attacked the Junaid Coal company mines in the Duki area in the wee hours using heavy weapons.” He said that they also threw grenades and rockets at the mines.
“We have received 20 bodies and six injured so far at the district hospital,” Duki physician Johar Khan Shadizai stated.
Khairullah Nasir, the chairman of the Duki District Council, verified the occurrence as well, claiming that the attackers employed “hand grenades, rocket launchers, and other modern weapons.”
In addition, he said, “ten coal engines and machinery” were set on fire by the attackers. Nasir verified that the incident scene had been reached by the police, Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, and district administration.
The incident scene was attended by the assistant commissioner (AC) and the FC commandant, together with the Duki superintendent of police, by Duki Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kaleemullah Kakar. To retrieve the remaining bodies, a coordinated operation was carried out.
Speaking with reporters, DC Kakar stated that the victims came from different parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He claimed that seven injured people have been taken to Loralai Tehsil Headquarters for medical attention, and that when all the required processes were finished, the deceased would be returned to their hometowns.
“To manage and control the situation, the district administration is actively coordinating with the police and FC,” DC Kakar claimed. He stated that the Counter-Terrorism Department will investigate the event and file a first information report.
The Duki DC observed that Levies led the response even though the FC was ultimately in charge of the coal mines and the area was under police control. He said the Levies handled and carried the first recovered body.
DC Kakar had already gotten in touch with the mine owner after learning of the occurrence. The Duki DC and AC went to the hospital at the district headquarters (DHQ) to make sure the appropriate plans were in place for the injured and deceased.
At the DHQ, all of the paramedical staff members and medical officers, including the medical superintendent and district health officer, were mobilized. In cooperation with the Loralai commissioner’s office, ambulances were scheduled.
An increase in terrorist attacks
Attacks against security personnel, law enforcement organizations, and security checkpoints have increased dramatically in Pakistan recently, especially in Balochistan and KP.
Monthly security statistics show that although there was a 24% decrease in terror incidents in September as compared to August, there were increases in August and July.
In 2023, 789 terror incidents and counterterrorism operations resulted in 1,524 violence-related deaths and 1,463 injuries in Pakistan. The total number of deaths, including outlaw deaths, is at an all-time high of six years.
Following the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)’s breach of a precarious ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022 and their threat to target security forces, attacks intensified.
A Levies official and the son of PPP leader Khan Muhammad Lotani were killed in a bomb attack that occurred in Khuzdar a day ago. The politician was also injured when their pickup truck was targeted.
Seven laborers from Multan were killed when terrorists brandishing automatic guns broke into a house that was still under construction in Panjgur last month. A private construction company’s camp in the Musakhel district was assaulted by armed men one day later, and their trucks and equipment were set on fire. There were no confirmed casualties.
In May, a group of six trucks carrying coal were traveling from the Duki coal fields to Punjab when they were ambushed in Ziarat. Three drivers were reported missing and one was died.
Eleven Shia Hazara coal miners were sleeping in their chamber in January 2021 when they were executed by unidentified attackers in the Mach coal field area after being blindfolded, held at gunpoint, and trussed up. The murder was attributed to the extremist Islamic State group.
