The bodies of nine passengers abducted and killed in Balochistan’s Sur-Dakai area were recovered and transported to their hometowns in Punjab on Friday, officials confirmed.
On Thursday night, armed assailants intercepted two Punjab-bound coaches near the Zhob-Loralai border, forcing 10 passengers off the vehicles after checking their identity cards, according to Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam. The attackers later opened fire, killing nine of the abductees, while allowing the coaches to continue their journey.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said the attacks, carried out in Kakat, Mastung, and Sur-Dakai, were part of coordinated assaults attributed to banned outfits. The Balochistan Liberation Front later claimed responsibility for the Sur-Dakai killings, saying they blocked the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri during the attack.
Authorities handed over seven identified victims to a political agent in Sakhi Sarwar, Dera Ghazi Khan, for delivery to their families. Two victims remain unidentified, reportedly due to missing identity documents.
Of those identified, two hailed from Lodhran and one each from Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujrat, Attock, Khanewal, and Gujranwala.
Nationwide Condemnation
President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the attack as “part of Fitna-al-Hindustan’s conspiracy to spill blood in Pakistan” and vowed to eliminate the group and its facilitators “at all costs.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed this resolve, promising to avenge the innocent lives lost.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti called the targeting of passengers based on their identity “an unforgivable crime” and pledged a harsh response. “We will turn Balochistan into a graveyard for these terrorists,” he vowed.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the killings, accusing “Indian-sponsored terrorists” of orchestrating the violence and pledging to eliminate them.
Survivors Share Ordeal
A surviving passenger recounted how gunmen stopped the buses, checked ID cards, and dragged passengers with Punjab addresses off at gunpoint. “I heard gunshots after they took them away,” he told Levies.
Sabir Toor, another survivor, said two of his brothers, Usman and Jabir, were killed in front of their family as they traveled to Lodhran for their father’s funeral. “I urge the security forces to rid this land of these miscreants,” he said in grief.
Rising Violence in Balochistan
The incident is the latest in a string of attacks in Balochistan targeting Punjabi residents. Earlier this year, similar assaults in Barkhan, Noshki, Kech, and Harnai claimed dozens of lives. The federal government has designated all such terrorist outfits in the province under the label “Fitna-al-Hindustan.”
Security forces have launched a large-scale operation to track down the perpetrators.
The news has been copied from the Dawn News site.
