ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's caretaker interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti, on Saturday vowed to bring to justice the suspects who killed six laborers in the country's southwestern Balochistan province.
The laborers, who belonged to the Punjab province, were killed by unidentified gunmen in an overnight raid in Balochistan's Turbat city, according to local officials.
No one immediately claimed the attack, but the mineral-rich province has for decades been plagued by a separatist insurgency and attackers have a history of targeting workers seen as "outsiders" in the region.
Speaking of Turbat killings, Bugti said this was an incident in which "terrorists" had killed innocent Pakistanis and not a Baloch had targeted any Punjabi.
"I extend my sympathies and condolences to the bereaved relatives... and assure them that the state will stand by the oppressed," the minister said in a video message.
"God willing, the ones who have spilled this sacred blood will not be forgiven and the state will fight them with full force."
The separatists in Balochistan are fighting what they call unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the federation, an allegation denied by the Pakistani state.
They have in the past targeted ethnic Punjabis and Sindhis from elsewhere in Pakistan as well as foreigners working for energy firms, whom they believe are exploiting the region’s resources.
