At least five workers tasked with dam maintenance were killed and two others injured when armed assailants opened fire in the Paroom area of Pakistan’s Panjgur district, Balochistan, local authorities reported on Tuesday.
The injured were promptly taken to a nearby hospital and are said to be in stable condition.
District officials have reached the scene, and an investigation into the incident is underway.
The Balochistan government spokesperson confirmed the deaths, condemning the attack as an act of terrorism.
Balochistan’s Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly denounced the attack, calling it “an unforgivable act” and pledged that the perpetrators would face justice.
He emphasised that these “terrorist acts,” intended to halt Balochistan’s progress, would not succeed.
“Those responsible will be held accountable for their actions,” Bugti stated, noting that terrorists would “never achieve their goals.”
Four terrorists killed in K-P IBOs
Security forces on Sunday neutralised four terrorists during two separate intelligence based operations (IBOs) in different districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), one of the operations was conducted in North Waziristan district where a day earlier a suicide bomber killed 8 people including four policemen and two army troops through a rickshaw mounted improvised explosive device (IED).
The military's media wing said army troops after an intense exchange of fire killed two "khwarij" terrorists, one of which was identified as Insaf Ullah.
In another encounter in Khyber district, troops raided a hideout and killed two terrorists while injuring three others.
"Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed khawarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the law enforcement agencies as well as the innocent civilians."
The ISPR said sanitization operations were underway in the areas to eliminate all terrorists. "Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country," it added.
Later, both the president and the prime minister congratulated the armed forces for the successful operations.
In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces and commended their bravery in conducting successful operations.
The president expressed his commitment to continue actions against terrorists until the complete eradication of the menace. "The entire nation stands with our security forces in the fight against terrorism," he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also lauded the officers and soldiers of the security forces for their successful operations in Waziristan and Khyber districts.
"We will continue the fight against terrorism until this scourge is completely eradicated from the country. The entire nation stands alongside the Pakistan Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism," added the PM.
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