QUETTA: Armed men stormed a marble mining site in southwestern Pakistan and kidnapped at least 18 workers, including one who was wounded by gunfire, a senior police official said on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, as a series of abductions raises fresh security concerns in the mineral-rich province of Balochistan.
The attack took place in Naal, a mountainous area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Khuzdar, where dozens of unidentified gunmen arrived on motorcycles and in vehicles before raiding a marble mining facility, according to the police official.
“Eighteen laborers belonging to various villages of Khuzdar district were kidnapped,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
One worker, identified as Rasool Bukhsh, was wounded by gunfire during the attack. The gunmen took him away along with the other abducted workers, the official said. Police were working to locate the missing laborers. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The abduction of the mining workers was the latest in a series of kidnappings reported in Balochistan over three days.
On Friday, unidentified armed men abducted at least 20 police constables in Mastung district as they returned from a police recruitment center in Kalat, an official said.
A day earlier, gunmen kidnapped Asad Ullah Kakar, commissioner of Balochistan’s Rakhshan Division, while he was traveling from Quetta through Kharan district.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, borders Iran and Afghanistan and has faced a long-running separatist insurgency. Violence has increased in recent years, with armed groups frequently targeting security personnel, government facilities and other locations.
Among the groups active in the region is the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has carried out attacks against Pakistani security forces and government targets.
Separatist groups accuse Pakistan’s federal government of exploiting Balochistan’s natural resources without providing sufficient economic benefits to local communities. The government rejects those allegations.
Pakistan has also accused India of supporting separatist militants in the province. Authorities had not announced any arrests in connection with the latest kidnapping, and the fate of the abducted workers remained unclear.
