QUETTA: Seven miners working for a private copper mining company were abducted by a group of armed men in the Mahian Kaur area of Chagai district on Wednesday, officials said.

Company officials said eight armed men arrived in the area on motorcycles, entered the miners’ camp and took them hostage at gunpoint.

They remained in the area for seven hours. The mine is located about 18 kilometres west of Chagai town.

The attackers collected equipment, weapons from the guards and other items from the camp before taking away seven miners at gunpoint.

The abducted workers include four labourers from Gilgit — Wajahat, Wajid Shahid and Sabir — and three local workers identified as Ziauddin of Dalbandin, Shah Saleem of Mahian, Chagai, and Saeed Muhammad, also a resident of Mahian.

According to sources at the mine, the armed men also took away vehicles, including a Zamyad truck and a four-wheel-drive pickup, more than 20 solar panels, a motorcycle, bedding and kitchen equipment.

They also reportedly took 2,500 litres of diesel and 1,500 litres of petrol.

The sources said the attackers stayed at the site for several hours and carried out the operation without resistance before escaping with the abducted workers and equipment.

The incident was promptly reported to the relevant authorities. However, the seven workers and the equipment taken from the mine had not been recovered at the time of going to press.

The administration has launched efforts to trace the abducted workers and recover the stolen property, while further investigation into the incident is underway.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2026