QUETTA: Armed men attacked the camp of a private construction company in Musakhail district of Balo­chistan, setting the machinery and vehicles including seven bulldozers on fire after ransacking the camp, police said.

Officials said terrorists carrying automatic weapons barged into the camp area of the construction company bet­w­een the night of Sept 28 and 29 in Sewa Ragh area of Durg Tehsil of Musakhail district. They overpowered the labourers, ransacked the camp and set fire to the machinery, seven bulldozers and a pick-up van.

Loralai Commissioner Saa­dat Hussain said more than a dozen terrorists cordoned off the camp and asked the labourers to leave. “They burnt seven bulldozers and a pickup,” he said.

He said that the company constructed a road leading to the gas company of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in Durg area of Musakhail district. “As many as 17 labourers and other staff were present in the camp when armed terrorists attacked,” he said.

The commissioner denied some media reports about abduction of the labourers. He also denied that there was any attack on the gas company’s camp. “The Frontier Corps is providing security to the gas company camp,” he said, adding that the camp that came under attack was of a private con­st­ruction company, located far from the gas company camp.

Deputy commissioner Jum­ma Dad Khan Mandokhail also refuted the rumours about the kidnapping of labourers and said all labourers working on road are safe. The local administration has boosted security in the area with additional deployment to secure the camp.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2024