The grim discovery was made yesterday after the Baluchistan Liberation Army, which is fighting for liberation from the federal government, claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.

At the time of writing, however, no one had taken responsibilities for the killings.

The miners were abducted on July 7 in the Soorang region, 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of the provincial capital, Quetta. Local police said it was believed the miners had been shot dead overnight.

The bullet-ridden victims were discovered dumped on a roadside in the hills of nearby Degan, administration official Zafar Bokhari told AFP.

The workers were from the Swat Valley, which is part of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Baluch rebels rose up in 2004 with demands of political autonomy and a greater share of profits from oil, mineral and gas resources in the province. The area is one of the most neglected regions of Pakistan.

The military in the country have previously been accused of rights violations in Pakistan, and one of the country’s top judges said on Wednesday a third of all disappearances in the country were linked to paramilitary forces.