ISLAMABAD: Five bul-let-riddled bodies found hanging from an electric pole in in Dalbandin town of Chagai district in Balo­chistan last week were Afghan nationals and have been returned to their families, Kabul’s em­­bassy in Islamabad said on Thursday.

The bodies were discovered on Friday near a college in Dalbandin, close to the borders with Afghan­istan and Iran in Balochistan.

A statement from the Afghan embassy said the bodies were handed over to families at the Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing on Wednesday.

Their consulate in Balo­chistan made “serious efforts” to return the bodies to waiting relatives in Afghanistan. “The five Af­­g­­hans were brutally killed by unkn­o­­wn people,” said the statement sha­­red with AFP on Thursday.

Balochistan is home to several militant groups, with security forces often the target of bombings. These groups are also behind sectarian violence in the province.

Some 600,000 Afghans have travelled to Pakistan since the Taliban took back power in 2021.

Since last year, however, Islam­abad has waged a campaign to evict huge numbers of undocumented Afghans, as relations with Kabul soured over security.

The Foreign Office and the Army have repeatedly urged the interim Afghan government in Kabul to act against the terrorists operating from its soil.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024