SP Buzdar says initial information indicated that 10 of the abducted workers are from Punjab
A police officer stands guard along a road leading to the border crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan in Balochistan Province, in Chaman on February 27, 2026. Photo: Reuters
QUETTA:
One private security guard was killed, two people were wounded and 12 workers were abducted when heavily armed assailants raided a construction company’s base in the Palari area of Nana Sahib Ziarat in Duki district on Saturday, Duki Superintendent of Police (SP) Mansoor Ahmed Buzdar said.
According to Buzdar, the attackers stormed the site and opened fire, triggering a gunfight with the private security guards stationed there.
“During the exchange of fire, security guard Muhtajur-Rehman, who was originally from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), suffered fatal bullet wounds,” Buzdar said.
He added that another guard, Imran Wazir, and a local bystander, Latif Tareen, were also wounded and taken to a nearby medical facility for treatment.
“The attackers rounded up workers inside the camp and checked their identity cards before taking 12 labourers with them. Initial information indicated that 10 of the abducted workers were from Punjab, while two were ethnic Pashtuns,” he said.
Buzdar said that the assailants also set fire to heavy construction machinery at the site before fleeing into the surrounding hills.
Security forces, including local police and Frontier Corps personnel, have cordoned off the area and launched a joint search operation across the district to locate the abducted workers and apprehend those responsible, according to the police.
Read: Security forces eliminate 16 Indian-sponsored terrorists in Balochistan IBOs: ISPR
Terrorism is a growing problem for Pakistan, with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organisation. Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022, and over the same period, TTP attacks increased more than sevenfold to 838 from 118.
Although K-P has borne the brunt of terrorism, Balochistan has also remained a major target of Indian proxies, which often target civilians and military installations in the province.
In one such attack on the last day of 2025, terrorists targeted innocent civilians in Balochistan’s Gwadar and Kharan districts, where 18 people, including women, children, the elderly and labourers, embraced martyrdom.
The forces continued operations across the provinces against what the state describes as Indian-sponsored terrorists and their proxies. Still, despite these efforts, the groups have continued to target civilian and defence installations.
Last month, in another such attack, at least 30 people, including 27 police personnel, were martyred when terrorists identified by the state as the Indian proxy Fitna al-Hindustan ambushed police personnel deployed in the Kach Mangi Phase III area of Ziarat, triggering hours-long gun battles. The attackers also abducted several civilians and police personnel after the assault.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and Balochistan Police launched a joint operation, which remains underway, with forces intensifying action against terrorists across the province.
