Daily Times

At least five people were killed and two injured after unknown gunmen opened fire at a dam construction site in Panjgur’s Paroom district, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred early Tuesday morning, killing workers tasked with maintenance work of the dam, according to Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind.

“The dead and injured were shifted to a local hospital,” Rind said, adding that the two injured were reportedly out of danger. He added that district administrative officers were present at the spot, and an investigation was underway.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti termed the incident “condemnable and unforgiveable”.

“Terrorists are followers of anti-national elements against development and peace,” he said, according to a statement by provincial spokesperson Rind. “The enemy is irked by the peace and development of Balochistan.”

He further said that terrorists can never succeed in their nefarious purposes, and that they were cowards who targeted innocent people in the dark of the night. “Terrorists will not be spared, unjust bloodshed must be accounted for,” the statement said.

CM Bugti expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased, and expressed good wishes for a speedy recovery of the injured. Separately, two policemen guarding a polio vaccination team were shot dead by militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district on Tuesday, following which two attackers were also killed, police said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic, and vaccination teams are frequently targeted by militants waging a campaign against security forces.

On Monday, Pakistan launched a week-long vaccination campaign with the aim of immunising more than 45 million children under the age of five.

Malik Sikandar, a senior police officer in Orakzai, told AFP: “Two militants attacked policemen guarding a polio vaccination team.”

“One policeman died at the scene while the second succumbed to injuries” en route to hospital, he told AFP, adding that officers chased down and killed the two attackers and a local accomplice.

Another police official, Naveedullah Khan, confirmed the fatality and told AFP that two vaccination workers on the team “were inside the home during the attack and remained safe”. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in KP, which has long been a hive of militant activity.

Meanwhile, an official of the Special Branch was martyred when armed motorcyclists fired at him in Lakki Marwat district on Tuesday.

Police said the official of the Special Branch, Arif Ullah was going for duty when armed men riding a motorcycle shot him dead near his house in Kotka Sher Khan area.

In another incident, a police constable deputed at the gate of Civil Hospital Tank, was shot and injured by unknown armed men.

The constable was badly injured and was later referred to Dera Ismail Khan hospital. The attackers managed to flee the scene. Area police have launched a search operation to arrest the attackers.