QUETTA: A group of unidentified gunmen attacked a residential quarter in Gwadar, a coastal town in Pakistan, in the early hours of Thursday, killing seven laborers from Punjab province, confirmed a local administration official.
The attack, which occurred about 24 kilometers from central Gwadar city, targeted hair-salon workers from Khanewal district in Punjab while they were sleeping.
Speaking to Arab News, Deputy Commissioner of Gwadar Hamood-ur-Rehman said the assailants stormed the quarter around 4 AM and opened fire on the occupants.
“The attackers killed seven laborers belonging to Punjab province before escaping from the area,” he said. “One worker was injured in the attack and has been transferred to District Headquarter Hospital Gwadar for medical treatment.”
Rehman also mentioned the district administration and law enforcement agencies had started investigating the incident. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is the third attack against laborers from Punjab within a month in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, which shares porous borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has experienced a low-scale insurgency by Baloch separatist groups against the Pakistani state.
In April, the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the killings of nine Punjab residents traveling to Iran from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. In another incident last month, two Punjabi garage workers were targeted.
Baloch nationalists have long accused the Pakistani government and Punjab province of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s abundant natural resources, saying it has led to political marginalization and economic exploitation.
However, Pakistani administrations have denied these allegations, citing several development initiatives launched in the province to improve local living conditions.
Gwadar, located on the Arabian Sea coast, plays a pivotal role in the multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is envisaged to enhance regional connectivity.
Despite being resource-rich, Balochistan remains Pakistan’s most sparsely populated and impoverished province.
“The slain laborers were shot multiple times,” Dr. Hafeez Baloch, the medical superintendent at DHQ Gwadar, told Arab News. “We found bullet injuries on their heads and bodies.”
“One injured individual, who was in stable condition, has been referred to Karachi for better treatment,” he added. “The bodies of the slain laborers have been returned to their native village in Punjab.”
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the killings, describing the incident as “a cowardly attack on the country by its enemies.”
“We will eradicate terrorism from the country and stand with the families who lost their loved ones in Gwadar,” he declared in a statement.
Meer Sarfaraz Bugti, the provincial chief minister, vowed to pursue the attackers, saying: “We will use all our might against these terrorists and establish the writ of the state.”
Gunmen kill seven laborers from Punjab province in Pakistan’s coastal Gwadar district
https://arab.news/9vm2g
Gunmen kill seven laborers from Punjab province in Pakistan’s coastal Gwadar district
- The assailants targeted the seven hair-salon workers while they were sleeping in a residential quarter
- No group have claimed the attack, though Baloch separatists have targeted Punjabi workers in the past
Pakistan opposition to hold protest today over jailed ex-PM Khan’s deteriorating eye condition
- A court-appointed lawyer this week visited Imran Khan at prison and recommended independent ophthalmology review of his right eye
- Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Khan party’s narrative has ‘fallen flat on its face’ after ex-PM voiced ‘satisfaction’ with facilities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition alliance has announced a sit-in outside the Parliament House in Islamabad today, Friday, over jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s deteriorating eye condition, following a rare prison visit by a Supreme Court-appointed lawyer this week.
Barrister Salman Safdar, who was appointed ‘amicus curiae,’ or friend of the court, visited Khan at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail on Feb. 10 and filed a detailed report on his living conditions and health, which was made public on Thursday.
The report stated that in view of the seriousness of Khan’s ocular condition, “it is imperative that the seriousness of the condition be independently ascertained without delay.” There was no immediate response from prison authorities on the findings.
The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan opposition alliance late Thursday demanded that Khan be transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital and announced a sit-in outside parliament until the former prime minister is allowed treatment in the presence of his personal physicians.
“The sit-in will be held tomorrow,” Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the head of the opposition alliance, told reporters in Islamabad, adding that they will peacefully lay down all demands at the sit-in. “If, God forbids, something happens, then the government will be responsible for that.”
Khan, 73, has been in custody since August 2023 in connection with multiple cases that he and his party describe as politically motivated. The government denies the allegation.
Concerns about Khan’s health have resurfaced in recent weeks after authorities confirmed he had been briefly taken from prison to a hospital in Islamabad for an eye procedure. The government said at the time his condition was stable, while Khan’s family and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party complained they had not been informed in advance and alleged he was being denied timely and independent medical access.
The issue was then taken up by the Supreme Court earlier this week, which tasked Safdar, who has represented Khan in the past, with visiting the ex-premier and submitting a written report.
According to a medical condition report from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), dated Feb. 6, 2026 and referenced in Safdar’s court filing, Khan was diagnosed with “right central retinal vein occlusion” after reporting reduced vision in his right eye.
The report states that he underwent anti-VEGF intravitreal injection treatment at PIMS and was discharged with follow-up advice.
However, in his interaction with Safdar, Khan said he had experienced “rapid and substantial loss of vision over the preceding three months” and claimed his complaints had not been addressed promptly while in custody. He further stated that despite treatment, he had been left with “only 15 percent vision in his right eye.”
Safdar’s report notes that the former premier appeared “visibly perturbed and deeply distressed by the loss of vision and the absence of timely and specialized medical intervention.” The amicus also recommended that the Supreme Court consider directing involvement of Khan’s personal physicians or other specialists of his choice, warning that “any further delay poses a serious risk to the Petitioner’s well-being.”
Beyond medical concerns, the report addressed Khan’s confinement conditions, noting that he expressed “satisfaction regarding his safety and security within the cell-block,” as well as contentment with basic amenities and food provisions.
Responding to the report, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar rejected claims of mistreatment, saying the “narrative being propagated to international media” by Khan’s family had “fallen flat on its face.”
He said the prison report on Khan’s daily routine and diet had removed any ambiguity and maintained that all facilities were available to the former premier, who he said enjoyed privileges “more than any other prisoner.” His X post did not address the allegations on Khan’s health issues.
