- Slain workers is said to be residents of Punjab’s Bahawalpur district
- Outlawed BLA’s involvement in terror incident can’t be ruled out
ISLAMABAD: Eight Pakistani workers were killed by unidentified armed assailants in Iranian province of Balochistan-Sistan on Saturday morning.
This is the second such incident of targeted killing this year involving Pakistani nationals working on the Iranian side of the border. In January, unknown gunmen had killed nine Pakistani nationals in southeastern Iran.
As per sources, the latest incident took place in the village of Hizabad Paein, a small town about five kilometres from Mehrestan district in Iran’s Sistan and Balochestan province.
According to sources, the slain workers are residents of Bhawalpur district in southern Punjab. They quoted local police as confirming that the incident took place in Hizabad Paein village of Mehrestan district in the Balochistan-Sistan province.
The unknown attackers who were more than a dozen managed to escape from the scene after the attack.
Additional information revealed that the eight victims hailed from Pakistan’s Punjab province and used to work at a car repair workshop.
“Among the victims were a man and his two sons, who had been working at a car repair workshop,” confirmed one of the sources.
While the motive behind the targeted killing is still uncertain, it is suspected it relates to the ongoing ethnic killing of Punjabis from the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Five of the victims were identified as Dilshad, Naeem, Jafar, Danish and Nasir. The deceased Dilshad is said to be the owner of the motor workshop that was targeted by the terror attack.
The deceased belonged to Bahawalpur district of southern Punjab. The bodies have been shifted to nearby hospitals. The process of identification and verification of the citizenship of the remaining bodies is ongoing.
A team from the Pakistani embassy has left for the Iranian province of Balochistan-Sistan. Pakistani embassy officials will visit the accident site and hospitals to assess the situation.
Due to the remote location near Pak-Iran border, there is difficulty in obtaining information. The alleged involvement of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in terrorism cannot be ruled out, diplomatic sources.
