Kharotabad incident: Russian diplomats arrive to take bodies

Russian officials say that four of the victims are Russians. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

QUETTA: Two Russian diplomats arrived in Quetta on Tuesday to take the bodies of the victims killed in Kharotabad area when security forces had gunned down five foreigners on May 17.

The Russian officials said that four of the deceased are suspected to be Russians; however, no official statement has been given yet. They said that they are waiting for the identification of the bodies to take place, adding that the bodies were decomposed due to the poor air-conditioning in the place where they were kept.

They said that it was unsure whether the Russians were terrorists or not, claiming that their passports were not handed over to them.

Earlier on Tuesday, a judicial tribunal, headed by Justice Hashim Kakar of the Balochistan High Court, was set up to further investigate into the matter. The tribunal recorded statements of five witnesses.

Justice Kakar assured that security would be provided to all the witnesses.