Three coal mine workers were killed on Sunday when unidentified armed men opened fire at them near a remote coal mine in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, a government official said.
“Armed men opened fire at three workers near a coal mine in the remote area of Sharag in Harnai district, before escaping into the mountains. The bodies are being shifted to Quetta for identification and other formalities,” a government spokesperson said.
A Balochistan Coal Mines Workers Federation official said the three miners were not from the province.
After the incident, security forces have cordoned off the area, and launched an operation to nab the culprits.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In January this year, 11 coal miners from the remote Machh coal field were kidnapped and killed, an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Since that brutal incident, government officials say, thousands of miners, many of them refugees and economic migrants from neighbouring Afghanistan and other parts of Pakistan have fled Balochistan province.
Apart from such deadly attacks, accidents due to gas explosions and wall collapses in coal mines are pretty common affairs.
According to the Balochistan Minerals Department estimates, there are 2,800 coal mines in this province, which employ over 70,000 workers.
On Saturday, Pakistan Human Rights Commission expressed concern over the deplorable working conditions in Balochistan’s coal mines.
A protest rally was organised by residents of Harnai along the highway connecting Quetta demanding better security and rights for coal miners.