23 travellers offloaded, shot dead in Pakistan’s Balochistan province after identity check: Pakistan official

At least 23 people in Pakistan's province of Balochistan were killed after armed men offloaded the people from trucks and buses, early Monday(26 August) morning, says Dawn.

The victims were shot after the gunmen checked their identities, a Pakistani official said. 

According to Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the district and offloaded passengers from several buses.

"The dead are reportedly from Punjab," he said.

AC Kakar further said the armed men also set fire to 10 vehicles.

Police and Levies officials reached the spot and began shifting the bodies to the hospital, he added.

In remarks made to AFP, the AC said three of the victims were from Balochistan and the rest from Punjab.

"Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot," Kakar added.

No information regarding who carried out the attack has been shared yet.

This is the second attack of such nature this year. In April, nine passengers were offloaded from a bus near Balochistan's Noshki city and shot dead after gunmen checked their ID cards.

Similar attacks have taken place over the past few years. In October last year, unidentified gunmen fatally shot six labourers hailing from Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan's Kech district. According to the police, the killings were targeted. All victims belonged to different areas of southern Punjab, suggesting they had been chosen for their ethnic background.

In 2019, gunmen stopped a bus near Ormara near Gwadar district, and shot dead 14 people, including personnel of the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guards, after checking their CNICs.

A similar incident occurred in 2015 when gunmen killed 20 construction workers and injured three others in a pre-dawn attack on a labourers' camp near Turbat. The victims belonged to Sindh and Punjab.

Condemnations

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack, Radio Pakistan reported.

Expressing grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the despicable incident, they prayed for the departed souls and condoled with the bereaved families.

President Zardari said the brutal killing of innocent people was the killing of the entire humanity and called for the culprits to be brought to justice.

PM Shehbaz directed the local administration to fully cooperate with the bereaved families and provide medical aid to the injured. He also directed the law enforcement agencies to immediately investigate the incident.

"The terrorists responsible for this incident will be severely punished," the premier vowed, adding that any kind of terrorism was not acceptable in the country.

Both the president and the prime minister expressed Pakistan's unwavering commitment to eradicate the menace of terrorism.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the incident of terrorism.

He expressed heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of those who died in the cowardly act of terrorists, according to a statement issued from his office.

The terrorists and their facilitators will not be able to escape an exemplary end, he said, adding that the Balochistan government will pursue the terrorists.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar strongly condemned the brutality of the terrorists.

"The terrorists showed brutality by targeting innocent passengers near Musakhail," he was quoted as saying in a statement on X posted by PML-N.

"The terrorists and their facilitators will not be able to escape an exemplary end," he said.

Speaking to Geo News, Punjab government spokesperson Azma Bukhari said she was angry at this incident.