Eight labourers from Pakistan's Punjab killed in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan

Islamabad, April 12 (IANS) At least eight labourers, having Pakistani nationalities and hailing from the Punjab province, have been killed in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province on Saturday, several reports have indicated.

This is the second such incident of targeted killing this year involving Pakistani nationals working on the Iranian side of the border. In January, unknown gunmen had killed nine Pakistani nationals in southeastern Iran.

As per sources, the latest incident took place in the village of Hizabad Paein, a small town about five kilometres from Mehrestan in Iran;s Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Additional information revealed that the eight victims hailed from Pakistan's Punjab province and used to work at a car repair workshop.

"Among the victims were a father and his two sons, who had been working at a car repair workshop," confirmed one of the sources.

While the motive behind the targetted killing is still uncertain, it is suspected it relates to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Punjabis from the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Importantly, the distance of Sistan and Baluchestan province from the Pakistan border is about 455 kilometers. Locals around both sides of the border usually are seen using the border for daily businesses and even use the same porous border to illegally pass through into Iran.

The Balochistan separatist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been accused in the past of conducting targetted killings of labourers, workers, government officials and others across the province, as part of their ethnic killing spree and hatred against Punjabis, in particular.

No groups have so far claimed responsibility for the latest attack in Sistan-Baluchestan.

--IANS

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