QUETTA: The government of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province ordered the lodging of a case against the owners of a private mining company on Saturday after a deadly methane gas explosion on Thursday killed 12 workers inside their coal mine located about 40 kilometers from Quetta.

Rescue teams recovered four bodies of the miners on Friday, while the search for the remaining eight has continued over the past two days, with rescuers facing challenges retrieving the bodies from 4,000 feet inside the mine filled with hazardous gas.

In a notification issued on Friday, the provincial mining department directed the district administration to lodge a First Information Report (FIR), or police complaint, against the owners of United Mineral Company Sanjdi.

“An accident occurred on 09/01/2025, which killed twelve miners,” the notification said. “Therefore, it is requested to lodge an FIR against Sheikh Abdul Aziz and Hayat Khan, owners of the mine.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province in terms of landmass, is one of the most impoverished regions in the country, yet it is among the richest in terms of mineral resources, with gold, copper and coal mines scattered across various districts.

Many coal mines in the province are operated by private companies, often under lease agreements with the government.

These mines are notorious for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are common, and miners work deep underground without adequate safety equipment.

According to the Mines and Mineral Department of Balochistan, 82 workers were killed in 46 coal mine accidents in 2024.

“Following the request of the mining department, we are lodging an FIR against the mine owners of the private mineral company located in Sanjdi,” Saadi Bin Asad, deputy commissioner of Quetta, told Arab News.

QUETTA: Authorities in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province sacked 15 paramilitary personnel of Levies, it emerged Saturday, for showing “cowardice” by surrendering to armed militants of a separatist group following an attack on Zehri, a small town in Khuzdar district, on January 8.
Dozens of ethnic Baloch separatists entered the area and took control of Zehri Bazaar for several hours, setting government properties on fire and robbing Rs768,000 ($2,745) from a private bank.
Footage and pictures seen by Arab News showed armed fighters roaming the streets of the town after seizing weapons, vehicles and motorbikes from the paramilitary force.
Security forces later reclaimed the town following skirmishes with the militants, during which one soldier was injured.
“The Levies officials clearly showed cowardice and irresponsibility,” said a notification seen by Arab News. “The undersigned is of the view that there is no need to conduct any formal inquiry.”
Prepared by Khuzdar’s deputy commissioner, Yasir Iqbal Dashti, the notification was issued on January 9, a day after the incident.
Dashti confirmed the development to Arab News, saying the district administration had terminated the services of Levies personnel who did not fight the militants.
An outlawed armed separatist faction, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and rich in mineral resources, has long faced a low-level insurgency led by separatist groups like the BLA, who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, while neglecting the local population.
Pakistani governments deny these allegations, saying that it has prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education and infrastructure projects.
The BLA has emerged as a significant security threat in recent years, carrying out major attacks in Balochistan and Sindh provinces while targeting security forces, ethnic Punjabis and Chinese nationals working on development projects.
Violence by Baloch separatist factions, primarily the BLA, killed about 300 people last year, according to official statistics, marking an escalation in the decades-long conflict.