CTD Registers Terrorism Case After Five Labourers Killed in Pishin
Balochistan's Counter Terrorism Department has registered a case against unidentified suspects after five road construction workers were shot dead in Pishin district, marking the latest development in an attack that has renewed security concerns in the province. Officials said on Tuesday that the case relates to the deadly shooting in the Saranan area, where armed assailants targeted labourers working on a road project.
According to CTD officials, the first information report includes provisions relating to terrorism, murder and attempted murder. The suspects had not been identified publicly at the time of the latest update. Authorities are now pursuing an investigation intended to establish who carried out the attack, how it was organised and whether the perpetrators had assistance in the area.
The workers were attacked while engaged in road construction in the Sulaiman Zai area near Saranan. Police and rescue officials said five labourers were killed and another was injured. The victims were reportedly from Punjab and had travelled to Balochistan for employment. The attackers also fired at machinery deployed at the construction site before leaving the area.
Following the shooting, police and other law-enforcement personnel reached the site, secured the surrounding area and began searching for those responsible. Rescue officials later transported the bodies to Quetta, from where arrangements were being made to send them to their home areas for burial. The injured worker received medical assistance after being moved from the attack site.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the killings and said attacks on civilians and workers demonstrated the brutality of terrorist elements operating in the province. He stressed that people earning their livelihoods and contributing to development should not become targets of violence, while assuring that state institutions would continue operations against those responsible for terrorism.
Shahid Rind, the chief minister's aide on media and political affairs, also condemned the attack and expressed grief over the deaths. Provincial officials said violence against workers would not be allowed to derail development activity or weaken efforts to improve security and economic conditions in Balochistan. Authorities have pledged to pursue both the attackers and any facilitators linked to the assault.
The incident has added to concerns over attacks targeting infrastructure projects, security facilities and civilian workers in parts of Balochistan. Another security incident had occurred in the Saranan area only days earlier when armed attackers targeted a police station and used explosives to damage the facility. The proximity of the incidents is expected to form part of the broader security assessment by investigators and provincial authorities.
The immediate focus will be on the CTD investigation, identification of the assailants and searches being conducted by law-enforcement agencies. The case also carries wider significance for Pakistan because continued attacks on labourers and construction projects can affect development activity, worker mobility and public confidence in vulnerable districts. Provincial authorities are expected to review security arrangements around infrastructure sites while investigators seek evidence that could lead to arrests.