QUETTA: Police on Sunday recovered the bullet-ridden bodies of eight labourers in the Lasbela district of Balochistan province, an official confirmed.

Senior police officer Bashir Brohi told Dawn on Sunday that the victims were labourers from eastern Punjab province who were abducted and shot while working in Balochistan province's poultry industry in Sakran area.

He said police later found the bullet-ridden bodies of eight of the labourers. There was no information regarding the other two abductees.

The policeman added that local residents had claimed that the armed men easily managed to flee from the poultry farm in their vehicles.

No one had claimed responsibility for the incident till the filing of this report.

Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Malik Baloch strongly condemned the killing and directed police to bring the culprits to book.

In a statement issued on Sunday morning, Dr Baloch termed the incident as tragic and vowed the perpetrators would be arrested.

Balochistan is a sparsely populated province that is rich in mineral and gas resources province.

Baloch nationalists are demanding a greater share of economic proceeds from the area, while separatist groups have unleased a low-scale insurgency seeking complete autonomy.

They have targeted people from outside the province on several occasions in an effort to push them out of the area.