Muhammad Ahmed, a Lahore resident who had worked as an auto electrician in Gwadar for 20 years, was shot dead by unidentified armed men on October 28, four days after preparing the body of a friend killed in the coastal city and sending it to Faisalabad.
Ahmed’s family said that his friend, who was also from Faisalabad, was killed by unidentified armed men on October 23. Ahmed prepared his friend’s body for burial, wrapped it in a shroud and sent it to his hometown.
However, Ahmed was also killed at his workshop in Gwadar. Police later sent his body to Lahore, where his family received it and buried him after funeral prayers.
Ahmed was the sole breadwinner for his family who lives in a rented house in Lahore’s Baghbanpura area. His widow, Farhat Bibi, told a private media outlet that the couple had two daughters and had been married for 14 years.
“My husband worked as an auto electrician in Iran and then in Gwadar before our marriage. Since we got married, he had been earning a living there and sending money home. Nothing unpleasant had ever happened during that time. He would come home once or twice a year and we were content with whatever we had,” she said.
Farhat added that her husband had called her in a distressed state after his friend’s killing.
“His friend was the father of five daughters and they were left orphaned. But four days later, on October 28, we received the news that unidentified men had shot and killed Muhammad Ahmed while he was sitting at his workshop,” she stated.
The killings come as violence continues in Balochistan, where people from other provinces who travel to the region for work have also been targeted alongside security personnel by terrorists.
Banned organisations and extremist groups have also carried out attacks on civilian targets, including a major assault on a passenger train.
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 436 civilian deaths linked to terrorism were reported in Balochistan between January 1 and October 31 this year.
