QUETTA: The bodies of five men, which were found hanging from electricity poles in Dalbandin town of Chagai district a day earlier, were identified on Saturday. However, no one has claimed responsibility for the killings so far.

“All five victims are Afghan nationals and re­­sidents of Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan,” Muham­mad Jawad, an official from the Shah Fahad Bin Sultan Hospital, told Dawn, adding that the bodies were identified with the help of Muhammad Yahya, a resident of Girdi Jangle, an Afghan refugee camp in Chagai district, who visited the hospital where the bodies were kept.

The deceased were identified as Rozi Khan, Rehmat Ullah, Sami Ullah, Agha Wali, and Sardar Wali.

The bodies were shifted to Quetta.

Police investigating the killings suspect that the five victims may be the same group who appeared in a viral video on social media, making confessio­nal statements about the murder of Murad Note­zai, a prominent leader of the Iran-based banned militant organisation Jaish al-Adl.

The militant group, which operates in the Sis­tan-Baluchestan region of Iran, may have kidnap­ped and executed these people, possibly in retaliation for the killing of their leader, sources said.

However, officials and independent sources have yet to confirm whether the bodies found are of the same individuals who appeared in the video, or if they are unrelated individuals killed due to personal vendettas.

“We are investigating the incident to determine whether the deceased are the same individuals who made confessional statements in the video or if they are unrelated individuals,” a senior police officer said.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024