Gunmen kidnap 11 road workers in northwestern Pakistan

Armed men kidnapped 11 workers from a private construction company on a remote highway in northwestern Pakistan, police said on Thursday. At least six of the victims were later rescued in a police operation, while efforts continue to locate the others.

The workers were traveling from Islamabad to Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province, when they were ambushed near the Domanda Bridge in Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The employees, part of ZKB, a private firm involved in road building, were traveling in three vehicles when their convoy was intercepted by gunmen, police said. The attackers took away the vehicles and the workers inside.

Later, local police and Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Department launched a joint operation led by Dera Ismail Khan’s police chief, Sajjad Ahmad Sahabzada. A large search-and-strike mission was carried out across rural areas bordering Balochistan.

“During an exchange of fire, six kidnapped workers were rescued,” Sahabzada told reporters. “We’re actively searching for the others and remain hopeful.”

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion has fallen on Baloch separatist groups who have targeted laborers and infrastructure workers in the past.

The region has seen a decades-long insurgency by ethnic Baloch groups demanding more autonomy and control over natural resources.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, has previously carried out similar kidnappings and attacks on infrastructure projects, particularly those linked to Chinese investments.

In March, the BLA seized a passenger train in Balochistan, taking hundreds hostage and killing several off-duty security personnel in a high-profile siege that lasted several days.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province. Despite its rich mineral reserves, it remains underdeveloped. Locals have long complained of being excluded from decision-making and resource-sharing.

In recent years, separatist groups have intensified attacks to draw attention to their demands and to deter investment by foreign companies, especially Chinese firms backing infrastructure and energy ventures.