Gunmen storm coal mine in southwest Pakistan, killing 20 miners

Gunmen stormed accommodation at a coal mine and killed 20 miners in Pakistan’s southwest on Friday, according to police officials.

A search had been launched for the perpetrators of the attack police official, Hamayun Khan Nasir, said.

The gunmen rounded up the men before opening fire, Nasir said. He added that the attackers also fired rockets and lobbed grenades at the mine and its machinery.

Most of the casualties were from Pashtun-speaking areas of Balochistan. Three of the dead and four of the wounded were Afghan. Local shop owners pulled their shutters down to observe a daylong strike against the killings.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the attack, whilst Sarfraz Bugti, Balochistan’s chief minister, said “terrorists have once again targeted poor labourers.”

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said those responsible for the attack would face legal repercussions.

No group claimed immediate responsibility for the incident, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which targets civilians and security forces.

Attack ahead of international summit

The BLA is a separatist group that seeks independence for the southwestern Balochistan region. Earlier this month, it claimed responsibility for a bombing near Karachi airport that killed two Chinese nationals and wounded eight others.

In August, the group killed over 50 people in multiple attacks, including one where 23 people were fatally shot after being taken from buses and vehicles in Balochistan. Authorities responded to the incursion by shooting 21 insurgents in the province.

Balochistan is home to several separatist groups that accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting the oil-rich region at the expense of local people.

The attacks, including the one on Karachi airport, has raised questions about whether Pakistani forces are capable of protecting foreigners in the country — including their ability to protect high-profile events.

Islamabad is hosting a summit next week of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a grouping founded by China and Russia to counter Western alliances.

Authorities have increased security in the capital by deploying troops.

The Interior Ministry this week alerted provinces to take additional measures over concerns that separatists and the Pakistani Taliban could attack public places and government installations.