Mastung: Four orchard laborers killed, three injured in alleged drone attack
Four orchard workers were killed and three others injured in what local and rescue sources described as a drone strike in the Khadkucha area of Mastung district on Friday. The incident took place in the Gaith area of Khadkucha, where labourers were working in an orchard when an aerial attack reportedly struck the site. The sudden explosion resulted in immediate fatalities and injuries among the workers present at the scene.
Rescue personnel quickly responded to the incident, transferring the dead and injured to Shaheed Nawab Ghaus Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital in Mastung. The injured workers received medical treatment, with their conditions not yet specified. The rescue sources identified the injured as Ali Raza Mengal from Khadkucha, Naseebullah Abro from Haji Shahr, Kachhi, and Khalid Hussain from Haji Shahr, Kachhi.
Those who lost their lives were identified as Gul Khan Mughairi, Imran, Ubaidullah, and Jehanzaib Abro—all reportedly associated with Haji Shahr in Kachhi district. All of the casualties were working as labourers in the orchard at the time of the incident. Local residents and some of the injured described the event as a drone strike, though authorities have not confirmed this officially.
Police officials stated that the exact nature of the explosion had not yet been determined, and an investigation was underway to establish the cause of the blast. While the incident has raised suspicions of a drone attack, official confirmation regarding the circumstances remains pending. The authorities confirmed the casualties but emphasized that an investigation was necessary to clarify what exactly occurred.
This incident follows a series of similar reports in Balochistan where civilians have been reportedly killed during security operations or aerial strikes. On 12 August, reports from Surab’s Goandhan area alleged that an aerial bombardment had killed dozens of civilians, including women and children. Local residents, rights groups, and political organizations disputed the official account, which claimed the deaths resulted from an explosives-laden vehicle detonation during a security operation.
The Mastung drone strike also comes weeks after reports from Khuzdar district indicating that four civilians were killed in a suspected drone attack on a house in the Moola Manjalo area. Human rights organizations and local groups described the victims as civilians, though the official details surrounding that incident remain unclear. At the time of publication, no official statements had been issued by the Pakistan military’s media wing or the district administration regarding the recent incident.
