Eight people, including four Pakistani policemen, were injured in two separate attacks in Balochistan. Pakistani media Dawn reported that four workers from Punjab province were shot dead in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Saturday (March 22). Four policemen were also shot dead in Noshki in the same district.
Kalat District Commissioner (DC) Captain Jamil Baloch said in a statement that “unidentified assailants opened fire and killed four workers” in the Malangzai area of Mangochar town of Kalat at around 2:30 pm. There were five workers there at the time, but one survived. All of them were residents of Sadiqabad and were working as borewell drillers. The DC added that Levies personnel had reached the spot and the bodies were taken to the Rural Health Centre Mande Haji for medical examination. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Meanwhile, Nashik Senior Superintendent of Police Hashem Khan said that four policemen were martyred on the spot when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on a police patrol in the Garibabad area. He said the bodies have been taken to a hospital. Police have cordoned off the area and are searching for the attackers.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and called for effective action against the terrorists who targeted unarmed workers. He said targeting innocent workers and civilians is a very brutal and condemnable act. Pakistan’s prime minister also condemned the attack.