QUETTA, Pakistan — The bullet-riddled bodies of five Pakistani migrants believed headed for Europe via Iran were found on Saturday in southwest Pakistan, in the same area where 15 bodies were discovered three days earlier, officials said.

The five migrants whose corpses were found in the district of Ketch in Balochistan province near the Iranian border had been killed two days ago, said provincial government spokesman Anwaar ul Haq.

As with the previous 15 they were ethnic Punjabis who were illegally traveling to Iran, he said.

Senior administration official Akbar Harifal said the killings seemed to be the work of separatist groups. The army said a separatist leader believed to have murdered the 15 had been killed.

Baloch separatists have regularly targeted ethnic Punjabi workers, accusing them of exploiting the province.

People-traffickers use the Balochistan route to smuggle workers from Punjab province to European countries via Iran. Some die on the way due to harsh conditions or attacks by Baloch separatists.

The army said troops on Friday killed a Baloch militant commander, Younas Taukali, 25 km north of the area where the bodies of the migrant workers were recovered.

“Terrorist Younas was involved in killing 15 innocent people belonging to Punjab on Nov 15,” an army statement said, adding he had also ambushed security force convoys and killed many civilians.

Balochistan, which borders both Iran and Afghanistan, is afflicted by Islamist militancy and sectarian violence as well as the separatist insurgency.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, a government deadline set for a religious group to disband its days-long rally in Pakistan’s capital has expired, but authorities extended it for 24 hours to avoid a crackdown.

The deadline was set for Saturday morning after a court asked the rally organizers — the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah party — to end the protest that has disrupted life in Islamabad.

Before dawn, police surrounded Islamabad’s Faizabad crossing, where demonstrators have camped out.

The protesters want the removal of Law Minister Zahid Hamid over a recently omitted reference to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him )in a bill.

Hamid has apologized, saying it was a clerical mistake that stands corrected.

Rally organizers say they will not end protest until Hamid is fired and the rally is viewed as a challenge to the government. — Agencies