At least 10 people working at a copper and gold project site in Balochistan’s Chagai district were killed late on the evening of April 22 in an armed attack by unidentified assailants. Reports indicated that a foreign national, most likely a Chinese working on the project site, was also abducted.
Around 40 fighters on motorcycles and other vehicles stormed the mining project site of Pakistani company National Resources Private Limited (NRL) in the Darigwan area. “The attack left 10 people dead, including seven workers and three security personnel,” a local administration official said, according to a report in The Balochistan Post.
In a statement, the mining company National Resources Limited (NRL) said the attack on Wednesday evening was repulsed by the security forces, including the Frontier Corps. The personnel of the security forces responded promptly, secured the area and launched a clearance operation.
The company did not mention any casualties in its statement, but local authorities confirmed the incident and 10 casualties. “At least 10 employees, including three security guards, were killed,” a senior official of the Chagai administration said.
Police officials also confirmed the attack and the killing of 10 people. All bodies were taken to Prince Fahad Hospital in Dalbandin for completing legal formalities.
In its statement, NRL said it remained “fully committed to the development and empowerment of local communities in Balochistan, with a strong focus on improving livelihoods and contributing to economic upliftment”.
“Over 90 per cent of the workforce at the Darigwan site comprises individuals from Balochistan,” the firm noted. NRL said it was closely coordinating with the relevant authorities and affirmed that the safety and security of its employees and operations remained its highest priority.
NRL is a Pakistani mining company formed as a joint venture between Lucky Cement, Fatima Fertiliser, and Liberty Mills. The company is exploring copper-gold and lead-zinc deposits in Chagai and has reported significant mineral discoveries. Lucky Cement holds a 33.33 per cent equity stake in the venture.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the incident in a statement posted on X. It said that the workers were “civilians and noncombatants, entitled under all circumstances to protection”. It maintained that the “deliberate targeting” was a violation of fundamental human rights.
The commission called on the state to “conduct an immediate, transparent investigation, hold perpetrators accountable, and take concrete measures to ensure the safety of all civilians”.
It further stressed that the people of Balochistan and “not armed groups, nor corporate or state interests” should be the focus of development in Balochistan. It is perhaps the first statement from HRCP regarding violence in any part of the province. It has a policy of not reacting to news regarding enforced disappearances and random killings by death squads backed by the government forces.
This clearly shows the limits, and perhaps the strong bias again the innocent Baloch people, of the commission, a local Baloch said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Baloch nationalist armed groups have intensified attacks in the region in recent years, including on mining projects. One reason for these attacks is that their ownership vests with Punjabi or Sindhis, considered outsiders by the ethnic Baloch.
