QUETTA: Six people were killed and three others injured in two separate incidents in Mastung’s Khadkoocha area on Friday, highlighting renewed security concerns in a district that has witnessed repeated militant attacks and counterterrorism operations in recent weeks.
According to police and local sources, the first incident occurred at an orchard in Khadkoocha, where an explosion killed four labourers and injured three others. The victims were reportedly working at the site when the blast occurred.
The deceased were identified as: Gul Khan Mughari, Imran Brohi, Obaidullah Brohi and Jahanzeb Abro.
The injured were identified as: Ali Raza Mengal, Naseebullah Abro and Khalid Hussain.
The bodies of the deceased and the injured were shifted to Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Hospital for further procedures and treatment.
In a separate incident at Guru in Khadkoocha, two unidentified men were found dead beside a roadside. Police said the two appeared to have been shot, while their identities and the circumstances surrounding their deaths had not yet been established.
Two Incidents Add to Mastung’s Recent Security Concerns
The latest violence comes less than a week after Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove’s convoy came under attack in Khad Kocha on August 14. Langove escaped unharmed, while several people, including security personnel, were injured. Security forces subsequently cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.
The proximity of the latest incidents to the convoy attack is significant. It indicates that Khad Kocha remains an active security hotspot, where militants have demonstrated the ability to operate against both state-linked targets and vulnerable civilian communities.
Mastung Already Under Counterterrorism Pressure
The district has also been the focus of intensified security operations. On July 23, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in KhadKocha in which six militants were reported killed, while several others were arrested, including alleged facilitators and suicide bombers. The operation was reported as part of the broader Operation Shaban launched after the attack on Mangi Dam Police Station.
The recurrence of violence despite these operations illustrates the complexity of the security challenge in Mastung. The area’s mountainous terrain, road networks and dispersed agricultural settlements can provide militants with opportunities to move, conceal themselves and target passing personnel or civilians.
Civilian Casualties Highlight Human Cost of Violence
The killing of four agricultural workers is particularly significant because the victims were reportedly daily-wage labourers working in an orchard, rather than members of a security formation. Combined with the discovery of two bodies in the second incident, the latest violence brings the immediate reported death toll to six.
The incidents therefore underline a broader concern: militant violence in Mastung is not confined to attacks on security forces or government installations but also carries a direct cost for ordinary residents and workers.
