QUETTA: Bullet-riddled bodies of eight labourers kidnapped from a poultry farm in Sakran area near the industrial town of Hub after Saturday midnight were found on Sunday.

The workers had come to Hub last month from Muzffargarh and Rahimyar Khan in Punjab after their native areas had been devastated by recent floods.

The bodies were dumped in a mountainous area. Another labou­rer, who had been seriously injured, was found lying near the bodies.

According to DPO of Lasbela Bashir Ahmed Brohi, the labourers worked in a poultry farm owned by Haji Ali Rind, brother of Rajab Ali Rind, a leader of the ruling National Party.

Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the killing and ordered the IG of Balochistan to investigate the gory incident and arrest the culprits.

“The brutal act of killing innocent people is sheer violation of Islamic teachings and Baloch traditions,” he said in a statement.

He offered condolences to relatives of the deceased.

According to sources, the kidnappers stormed the poultry farm at around 2.30am when the labourers were sleeping. They blindfolded 11 labourers, tied their hands and took them to the nearby mountainous area.

The injured worker, Azhar Ali, said the kidnappers had handed the labourers over to another armed group. The gunmen interrogated them to determine their ethnic identity, separated nine of them and opened fire at them. They let go two others who were from Lasbela district.

“Eight labourers who had suffered multiple bullet injuries died on the spot,” he said. The bodies were taken to the Jam Ghulam Qadir District Hospital in Hub.

“Most of the bullet wounds were found in the chest,” a police officer quoted doctors as saying.

The United Baloch Front (UBF) has claimed responsibility for the killings. Calling from an unspecified location, the front’s spokesman Musa Sarbaz told reporters that his organisation was behind the kidnapping and killing of labourers.

The people killed were identified as Rajab Ali, in-charge of the farm, Muhammad Shafi, Sajjad Ahmed, Muhammad Aslam, Shah Fahad, Nasir Ali, Muhammad Arshad and Shafi Muhammad.

The bodies were sent to Edhi Foundation in Karachi to be transported to the victims’ native areas.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014