Militants abduct, kill 6 barbers from Punjab in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Peshawar: Unidentified militants shot and killed six barbers from Pakistan's Punjab province after abducting them from the restive northwest region, police said.

The incident took place in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The victims, who were from the Punjab province, ran barber shops in the local bazaar, police said, adding that they were abducted a day earlier and their bodies were recovered on Tuesday.

However, no one immediately claimed responsibility for the killings.

Police have launched a search to arrest the culprits who shot and killed the six barbers.

The latest incident from North Waziristan came after five labourers were killed in the same province by unidentified militants while they were in their tents.

The gruesome act took place at a time when the province wrestled with a worsening law and order situation due to the rising terrorism at a time when the much-awaited countrywide elections were just over a month away.

The increase in terrorist acts, including attacks on military and police as well as targeted killings, is on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially the former tribal belt.

However, the region around Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan has been worst affected.

Recently, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorist activities orchestrated by various terror outfits.

According to a recent report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) think tank, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was the most affected by terror attacks in November, recording 51 attacks with 54 deaths and 81 injuries.