The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed alarm over the killing seven Labourers in Kech district and the deaths of dozens of coal miners in a methane explosion near Quetta, calling for a swift investigation into the killings and stronger workplace safety across Balochistan.

In a statement, the rights body said that while the two tragedies stemmed from different causes, both underlined the vulnerability of workers in the province whose lives, it said, continue to be lost to violence, unsafe working conditions and systemic neglect.

HRCP demanded a swift and impartial investigation into the Kech killings so that those responsible are brought to justice. The mine explosion, it added, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen occupational health and safety standards, warning that the country "cannot continue to treat workplace safety as an afterthought."

Reaffirming that every worker has the right to life, dignity and security, the commission offered its condolences to the bereaved families and urged the state to take tangible measures to prevent such avoidable loss of life.

https://x.com/HRCP87/status/2083118222958612620?s=20

The seven labourers were abducted on Tuesday after armed men intercepted their vehicle on the Turbat–Mand Road in the Kalatak area of Kech district, according to the Balochistan Home Department. One of them, Javed Khan of Swabi, was shot dead soon after the abduction and his body left on a highway.

The bodies of the remaining six were recovered from the Nasirabad area on the outskirts of Turbat on Thursday, Home Department adviser Babar Yousafzai said. Four of the victims were from Punjab and two from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; all had been working on a development project in the district.

Police described the attackers as unidentified armed men, and no group had claimed responsibility by Thursday. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi attributed the attack to "Fitna al-Hindustan" a term Pakistani authorities use for militant groups they accuse India of backing and condemned the killings, as did Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti, who called them an act of terrorism and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Separately, the methane blast tore through a coal mine in the Sorange coalfield, some 50 kilometres east of Quetta, on Thursday, trapping miners working thousands of feet underground. HRCP put the death toll at at least 32; authorities have since confirmed 34 dead, with rescue teams recovering bodies into Friday.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said the explosion, which struck during a shift change, damaged a neighbouring mine and the passage used to pump fresh air underground, complicating the rescue. Balochistan's Minister for Mines and Minerals, Shoaib Nosherwani, announced compensation of Rs500,000 for the family of each victim.

Fatal accidents are common in Balochistan's largely privately operated coal mines, where labour representatives have long pointed to inadequate ventilation, a shortage of safety equipment and the absence of modern gas-detection systems. The province, Pakistan's largest but least developed, depends heavily on a mining workforce that continues to labour in hazardous conditions for low wages.

Published in Balochistan Dispatch, July 31th, 2026