At least seven labourers were killed and one was injured on Thursday when unknown gunmen opened fire on them in Surbandar, Gwadar, Aaj News reported.
The victims, who worked at a barbershop, were sleeping in their residential quarters when they were attacked.
“We are investigating the matter at the moment but apparently it looks like they were attacked because they were Punjabis,” Muhammad Mohsin, a senior police official in Gwadar, was quoted as saying by AFP. He added that six were killed and one was injured.
A second police official Zohaib Ahmad also confirmed the death toll to AFP, and said they were shot dead inside their home.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti condemned the killing and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
The CM directed the authorities to take strict action against the perpetrators.
The attack comes weeks after eleven people were killed in two separate firing incidents along the National Highway in Noshki district of Balochistan.
The first incident took place as a bus carrying passengers from Quetta to Taftan was targeted by armed assailants. Nine passengers were kidnapped from the bus and subsequently shot to death.
Noshki terror attack: Bodies of nine passengers sent to Punjab
The Noshki SSP said the victims were identified and then killed, adding that they hailed from Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, and Wazirabad cities of Punjab. He said their bodies were found in a desolate, mountainous area.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the killing of the seven labourers in Gwadar and expressed his condolences to families of the victims.
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