QUETTA: Police in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have identified five bullet-riddled bodies found hanging from electricity poles on Friday in the remote settlement of Dalbandin, saying they belonged to Afghan nationals.
The incident jolted residents of the area, located about 340 kilometers from the provincial capital, Quetta, after they spotted the bodies bound to electricity pylons in the middle of the town, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan.
Hussain Lehri, Senior Superintendent of Police in Dalbandin, said the authorities moved the bodies, found near a government-run college, to the District Headquarters Hospital for autopsy as soon as they were informed.
“During the medico-legal procedure, the bodies were identified, and it emerged that the deceased were residents of Afghanistan’s Lashkar Gah city,” he told Arab News over the phone.
“The bodies have been taken to Quetta, where they will be kept in a morgue until the family members arrive to claim them.”
Pakistan shares a 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan and a 905-kilometer border with Iran. Dalbandin is situated close to the Afghan province of Helmand and is a frequent border crossing for people illegally entering Pakistan.
Balochistan, arguably the most underdeveloped region of Pakistan, has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by Baloch separatist groups who accuse Islamabad of exploiting its natural resources like copper and gold. The Pakistani state denies the charge, saying it has been undertaking development projects to benefit the residents of the province.
Lehri said the five Afghans were killed by unknown assailants outside Dalbandin before their bodies were tied to the poles in the city.
“A video appeared about 20 days ago, in which they were seen in the captivity of the banned Islamist group Jaish-ul-Adl,” he continued. “But we are investigating this further.”
Jaish-ul-Adl is a militant group based in southeastern Iran, primarily operating in the Sistan and Balochistan province. The group emerged in 2012 as a successor to Jundallah, a previously active insurgent organization.
Jaish-ul-Adl is primarily known for its violent attacks against Iranian security forces and government officials, with Tehran accusing Pakistan of harboring them, though Pakistani authorities have always denied the allegation.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killings of the Afghan nationals.
