In a tragic incident early Monday morning, at least 23 travelers from Punjab were brutally killed in Balochistan’s Musakhail district after armed assailants offloaded them from trucks and buses, conducting identity checks before opening fire, according to local officials.
Musakhail Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar reported that the attackers blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area, forcing passengers out of several vehicles. “The deceased belongs to Punjab,” he confirmed.
AC Kakar further stated that the attackers set fire to 10 vehicles after the assault. Police and Levies forces quickly arrived at the scene, beginning the process of transferring the bodies to a nearby hospital. In his remarks to AFP, Kakar mentioned that while most of the victims were from Punjab, three hailed from Balochistan.
“This horrific incident targeted vehicles traveling to and from Punjab, where passengers were identified and singled out based on their origin before being executed,” Kakar added.
This attack in Musakhail is eerily similar to an earlier incident in April, where nine passengers from Punjab were offloaded from a bus near Noshki and shot dead after gunmen verified their identities. Another comparable attack occurred in October last year when six laborers from Punjab were fatally shot in Turbat, Balochistan’s Kech district. In 2015, 20 construction workers, primarily from Sindh and Punjab, were also killed in a pre-dawn attack near Turbat, underscoring a troubling pattern of ethnically targeted violence in the region.
Condemnations
Top government officials have strongly condemned the Musakhail attack. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and demanded swift justice for the perpetrators.
President Zardari condemned the killings as an attack on humanity, calling for the assailants to be brought to justice. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed local authorities to assist the bereaved families and ensure medical care for the injured. He vowed that the terrorists behind this atrocity would face severe punishment, reiterating Pakistan’s unwavering stance against terrorism.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti also condemned the attack, offering heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families and pledging that the terrorists and their facilitators would face an exemplary end. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar echoed these sentiments, condemning the brutality of the terrorists and asserting that they would not escape justice.
This story is still developing, and updates will follow as more details emerge. We are committed to providing accurate and timely information based on reliable sources and official statements.
