Baloch insurgents shot and killed nine passengers from Punjab after offloading them from passenger buses in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, authorities said on Friday.
The incident took place late on Thursday on the national highway in the Sur-Dakai area of Zhob district, said Assistant Commissioner Zhob Naveed Alam. The armed insurgents stopped two Punjab-bound buses and checked the ID cards of travellers before offloading nine passengers and shooting them dead. Nine people abducted from both coaches have been killed, and their bodies have been recovered, Alam said, adding that all nine belonged to different parts of the Punjab province.
The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), a banned outfit known for attacking the security forces, claimed responsibility for the gruesome murders. "We have moved the nine bodies to the hospital for post-mortem and burial procedures," Alam said.
Security forces suspended traffic on the highway and began a large-scale search operation to locate the perpetrators. Condemning the killing of nine passengers, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said that the killing of innocents based on identity is an "unforgivable crime".
"The terrorists have proven that they are not human beings, but cowardly beasts. The blood of innocents will not go in vain on the soil of Balochistan. The state will not allow these murderers to hide even underground," he said.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident and said terrorists have shown the worst barbarity by targeting innocent people. This is not the first time that insurgents have targeted people belonging to the Punjab province and passenger buses plying on different highways in Balochistan. -- PTI
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