At least three barbers from Sindh were killed when unidentified men opened fire on them in their shop in Balochistan’s Panjgur on Sunday.

The deceased were identified as Abdul Sattar, Zubair, and Muhammad Zaman.

They were killed in the district’s Gwargo tehsil. The victims were from the Sindh’s Mirpurkhas, Levies said and added that two of them were brothers. Bodies have been transferred to the hospital, and investigations into the incident were underway.

Pakistan has been battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.

Last year saw casualties hit a six-year high, with more than 1,500 civilians, security forces and militants killed, according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.

Shahid Rind, the Balochistan government spokesperson, “strongly condemned” the incident and described the murder of barbers as “tragic and reprehensible.” He stated that targeting “innocent civilians is a savage and barbaric act.”

The spokesperson claimed that such incidents were “part of a conspiracy” to spread hatred among provinces. He assured that “anti-peace elements” would not be allowed to disrupt the tranquility of Balochistan.

He added that security forces have initiated operations to apprehend those involved, promising that individuals responsible for disturbing public order would be brought to justice.

Last week, prominent religious scholar Mufti Shah Mir Bizenjo was killed in Turbat by unidentified gunmen. He had just stepped out of the mosque after offering prayers when armed assailants opened fire on him.

An Indian report claimed that Bizenjo “played a key role” in the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

On Saturday, tribal leader Abdul Hafeez Mengal was killed when unidentified men opened fire on him in Khuzdar. In another incident, at least 75 unidentified armed individuals attacked the police station in Ornach, Khuzdar, taking police weapons and a police mobile unit with them.