JAMMU: Reports emanating from Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province of Pakistan, have said that Barkhan district’s Deputy Commissioner Mureed Baugh has been killed after being abducted by armed men at a checkpoint. There were several other reports which said that there were coordinated attacks on Pakistani forces across multiple districts of Balochistan.
In two more incidents, at least 11 workers linked to development projects were abducted in separate incidents in Kech and Khuzdar, as security operations continued in parts of Balochistan, according to The Balochistan Post.
In Kech district, armed men intercepted a vehicle on the Turbat-Mand Road in the Kalatak area and abducted seven labourers associated with a development project, officials said. They said more than half of the workers were from Punjab, while one was Pashtun.
Babar Yousafzai, an aide to the home department, confirmed the kidnapping and said one of the hostages had been killed. He said, “The body of the slain laborer recovered from the area who was identified as Javed,” adding that security forces had launched an operation for the recovery of the remaining abducted workers.
In a separate incident in Khuzdar district, armed men kidnapped four employees of a private construction company from the Karkh area, where they had been working on emergency flood protection projects, police said.
Punjabi workers killed in past incidents
In the past few years, opposition to Punjabi workers has been growing among the armed groups of Balochistan. There have been several incidents of Punjabi workers working in Balochistan being selectively targeted and killed.
According to sources, armed men set up a blockade near Ghata Chowk in Barkhan and began checking vehicles, maintaining the checkpoint for several hours early on Wednesday. During this time, the armed men identified, detained and took away Deputy Commissioner Mureed Bugti along with his security guards.
A spokesperson for Balochistan’s Home Minister confirmed that the armed men subsequently killed DC Mureed Bugti. The fate of the security guards accompanying Mureed Bugti or details regarding their exact number and weapons they were carrying were not provided by officials. They have just said that the guards, without specifying their number, were also abducted along with the DC.
Clashes between forces and armed men continued in the area following the abduction, and reports also emerged of gunfire and a separate blockade at Khadda Chowki in the same district. The killing of the DC came amid a wave of attacks on Pakistani forces reported across several districts of Balochistan on the same day.
Convoy of Pakistani forces ambushed
In the Wadh area of Khuzdar, a convoy of Pakistani forces was ambushed, with reports of multiple personnel killed. Three vehicles were reportedly caught in the attack, and helicopters were dispatched to the site following the incident. No details regarding this attack or the casualty figures have been released by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media organisation of the Pakistani armed forces.
Pakistani forces were also reportedly targeted near Kharan city and in the Gulangor area of Noshki district, though further details on these incidents also remain limited.
Baloch separatist armed organizations remain active in these areas and have previously carried out attacks on Pakistani forces and other state institutions. However, no organization has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s coordinated attacks or the killing of DC Mureed Bugti and its Guard. Authorities have not issued further statements regarding the overall death toll or ongoing operations in the affected districts.
