The victims were working on the construction of a road in Balochistan when the attack took place near Saranan town along the Quetta-Chaman Highway.

Balochistan Chief Minister’s aide for political and media affairs Shahid Rind told Dawn that the labourers were working on an under-construction road when armed men opened fire on them.

According to sources cited by the newspaper, the victims had travelled from Punjab to Balochistan in search of work.

“Armed men arrived at the site on motorcycles and opened fire on the labourers,” a senior police officer posted in the area told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

The officer said the labourers died at the scene. Their bodies were later shifted to a hospital.

The incident is the second such attack reported in the area in the past three days.

Last week, armed men reportedly took control of a police station in Saranan town and blew up the facility after planting explosives. No casualties were reported in that incident.+