Armed men opened fire on passengers from trucks and buses in the Musakhel district of Balochistan, Pakistan early Monday morning after checking their identities. Officials confirmed that 23 people were killed in the incident. News from Pakistani media Dawn.
According to Musakhel Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in Rarasham district of Musakhel and alighted passengers from buses. The deceased are said to be from Punjab.
In this regard, he said, “The gunmen have set fire to 10 vehicles. The dead are said to be from Punjab. After the incident, the police and Levies officials reached the spot and started the process of shifting the bodies to the hospital.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the incident. In a statement from his office, he expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the cowardly act of terrorists. Exemplary punishment will be given to terrorists and their accomplices. None of them can escape. The Balochistan government must find the terrorists.
Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tara strongly condemned the brutality of the terrorists. He said, ‘Terrorists have shown brutality by targeting innocent passengers near Musakhel. Terrorists and their facilitators will not escape an exemplary fate.”
It should be noted that such attacks targeting the people of Punjab often take place in Pakistan. Earlier in April, gunmen gunned down nine Punjabi passengers from a bus near Noshki after checking their ID cards. In October last year, unidentified gunmen shot dead six laborers from Punjab at Turbat in Ketch district of Balochistan.
In this regard, the police say that this killing has been done by targeting. All the victims hailed from different areas of South Punjab, selected for killing because of their ethnic background.
