Quetta (Pakistan), Feb 19 At least seven passengers, hailing from different areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province were offloaded from a passenger bus and gunned down by attackers post identity card checks in Barakhan, Balochistan on Wednesday.
As per the details of the incident, at least 10 to 12 gunmen attacked a passenger bus traveling from Quetta to Faisalabad on Wednesday.
The assailants, who had set up a blockade on the highway in Rarkan area, forced the passengers out of the bus after it came to a halt.
Later on, the gunmen checked the identity cards of the passengers and shot dead at least seven of them.
Locals said that the victims hailed from Pakistan’s Punjab province, and were either government officials or were associated with the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects going on in Balochistan.
“The bus was heading from Quetta to Multan when the attack occurred”, said one of the eyewitnesses.
The law enforcement authorities and security forces have stopped passenger vehicle movement at multiple points after the incident as the gunmen are believed to be present in the area.
“Security forces, including the Frontier Corps (FC) and levies, have reached the site and are actively pursuing the terrorists”, said a spokesperson of the Balochistan provincial government.
Chief Minister of Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, condemned the killing of the unarmed passengers, vowing to give a strong response to the terrorists.
“The terrorists are targeting innocent and defenseless people. The cowardly attack by enemies of peace is intolerable and will be met with a strong response”, said CM Bugti.
“Those involved in the incident will be brought to justice, and the terrorists responsible for killing Pakistanis will face the consequences”, he added.
The attack has also been condemned by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who termed Wednesday's attack as a heinous act.
“The killing of innocent people is a cowardly and heinous act. The terrorists are the enemies of peace and humanity. They want to mar the peace in Balochistan. The perpetrators would be taken to the task”, said President Zardari.
This is not the first time that a passenger bus has come under attack in Balochistan, and the people targeted and killed either are government officials or belong to the Punjab province.
In the past also, a passenger bus route was blocked on the main highway by assailants and passengers hailing from Punjab were identified and brutally killed.
It is pertinent to note that Balochistan province has been a battlefield for Pakistan’s security forces, who have been conducting Intelligence-based operations against terrorist hideouts.
On the other hand, separatist militant groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have been carrying our major attacks against the security forces, government officials and others who belong to the Punjab province and are working in Balochistan, claiming that they would not allow foreign countries like China and even people from outside of Balochistan to work in the province without their permission.
In a recent statement issued by BLA, they vowed to continue their attacks against Chinese projects, its workers and the security forces.
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