7 barbers shot dead in Pakistan

International Desk: Seven workers of Ceylon were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Gwadar, a city near the Arabian Sea in Pakistan's Balochistan province. At least one other person was injured in the incident.

Gunmen entered a residential building in Gwadar's Surbandar district around 3 am local time on Wednesday. Local police officials said that the workers working in the salon slept at night. At that time the gunmen entered the house and opened fire. Seven people were killed and another one was injured.

Zohaib Mohsin, Senior Superintendent of Police of Gwadar, said that the murder took place around 3 pm. The victims worked in a salon in Surbandar, about 25 km from Gwadar. The port city is located in Pakistan's volatile southwestern Balochistan province. which borders Afghanistan and Iran. No one has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

Members of Baloch separatist armed groups have in the past targeted workers in the eastern Punjab province. The gunmen killed them in almost the same style of attack. Last April, Balochistan's pro-independence group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the killing of 9 laborers in Punjab province. A bus was stopped and the workers were shot dead at close range.

The Baloch dominated region is naturally rich in resources. But Baloch separatists claim that they are the poorest community in the region. Their community's wealth is also rapidly diminishing. Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by area. The province has seen a spate of deadly attacks in the past few years.

Baloch separatists have been agitating for independence from Pakistan. They have been rebelling for decades after accusing them of monopolizing and exploiting the mineral resources of the region.