18 marble mine workers abducted in Balochistan's Khuzdar, one shot

Unidentified gunmen stormed a marble mine in the Naal area of Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Saturday evening and abducted 18 workers, in the second mass kidnapping in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province in two days.

Dozens of armed men riding motorbikes and vehicles arrived at the site, roughly 35 to 40 kilometres from Khuzdar city near Baisar Mountain, opened fire and took the workers to an unknown location (Arab News, Bisaat News). One worker was shot in the leg during the attack. Local outlets identified him as Rashid and reported he was out of danger (Bisaat News, Daily Pakistan); Arab News gave his name as Rasool Bukhsh and reported he was taken with the other abductees.

The attackers also seized two vehicles and a loader from the site before fleeing. The mine is owned by Shah Mir Bizenjo, son of former provincial minister Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, according to the local station house officer, Ghulam Mustafa (Bisaat News). No group has claimed responsibility and police have yet to establish a motive; security forces have launched a search operation and a case has been registered (Daily Pakistan).

The attack follows a wave of abductions in Balochistan in recent days, including 20 police trainees seized near Mastung and the abduction of Rakhshan Division commissioner Asad Ullah Kakar in Kharan (Arab News, Daily Excelsior). Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a long-running separatist insurgency, with militant groups including the Baloch Liberation Army frequently targeting security forces, infrastructure projects and workers in the region (Arab News).