At least three coal miners were shot dead by unidentified armed men in Harnai district of Balochistan, it was reported on Sunday.

Security officials said that the attack occurred in Shahrig area near Harnai where the workers were working in Amanullah Taran's coal mine.

The bodies were moved to the hospital but the victims’ identification has yet to be ascertained.

Harnai Deputy Commissioner Suhail Anwar Hashmi said the workers could not be identified as yet. “Levies and Counter-Terrorism Department teams have been dispatched to the crime scene to shift the bodies to hospital,” he said.

The incident took place at a time when youths from Harnai were protesting at the Quetta-Harnai National Highway in support of the demands of the “Harnai Bachao Tehreek”.

The protestors demand basic necessities in the district such as electricity, water, etc.

Earlier, armed men gunned down three coal miners working in the Marwar coalfield area, some 70 kilometres from Quetta.

The victims were identified as Hidayat-ur-Rehman, Gul Hakim and Abdul Wakeel, who were working for two private coal companies — the National Coal Company and Dinar Coalmines.

The gunmen entered the area in the night and opened indiscriminate fire, killing the three coal miners on the spot.

This article was first published in Business Recorder on Nov 21, 2021.