Armed men gunned down five workers hailing from Punjab in the Mashkail town of Balochistan’s Washuk district on Sunday, Deputy Commissioner Abdul Majeed Sarparah said.

The incident occurred amid ongoing Operation Shaban and other counterterrorism operations in the province, in which the security forces have eliminated 109 terrorists since July 5.

“The incident took place in Mashkail town close to the Pakistan-Iran border area, when armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on shops where the labourers from Punjab were working,” DC Sarparah told the media.

Police officials said the five individuals suffered multiple bullet injuries and succumbed to their wounds on the spot. They added that after firing, the assailants escaped from the site.

The officials said police and other security personnel rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the incident and shifted the bodies to the government health facility in Mashkail.

After completing legal formalities, arrangements will be made to dispatch the workers’ bodies to their native towns in Punjab, according to the police officials.

Meanwhile, the security forces, along with the law enforcement agencies, launched a search operation in the area to trace the elements involved in the attack.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the “terrorist attack on innocent labourers”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

In their separate statements, they expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and expressed heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased.

President Zardari and PM Shehbaz said such “cowardly attacks” cannot shake the resolve of the nation.

They affirmed that security forces were determined to completely eradicate terrorism from the country and protect the lives and property of every citizen.

Both leaders said terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan and their facilitators do not deserve any concession and will be brought to justice.

The government uses the term “Fitna al-Hindustan” to refer to groups it accuses of being sponsored by India to execute terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil.

In recent years, Balochistan has witnessed a spate of attacks targeting those hailing from Punjab.

In March last year, four labourers from Punjab were shot dead by unknown assailants in Balochistan’s Kalat district.

In February 2025, unidentified gunmen killed seven people travelling to Punjab after offloading them from a passenger bus in the Barkhan district.

In May 2024, seven barbers from Punjab were shot dead near Gwadar, while August saw 23 travellers offloaded from trucks and buses and shot in the Musakhail district.

In September 2024, terrorists armed with automatic weapons stormed an under-construction house in the Khuda-i-Abadan area of Panj­gur town and killed seven labourers, all hailing from Multan.