QUETTA – At least seven passengers of a bus travelling to Punjab were killed by unknown armed men in Barkhar district of Balochistan on Tuesday night.
Barkhan Assistant Commissioner (AC) Khadim Hussain confirmed the incident, stating that the incident took place on the National Highway in the Rarkan area
He said the armed assailants stopped the bus, which was going to Faisalabad from Quetta, on the highway on boarded it. They later checked the identity of passengers and took seven of them, who were residents of Punjab, to nearby mountains.
All of the seven were shot dead as security forces found the bodies near the National Highway. An official said all the bodies have been shifted to a nearby hospital in Rakni.
Reports said there were total 45 passengers in the Faisalabad-bound bus. A passenger said there were ten to 12 armed men who had stopped the bus.
Authorities have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to apprehend the perpetrators.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the killing of seven passengers in Barkhan, He said terrorists are targeting innocent and unarmed civilians.
He said the enemies of peace will face a strong response, adding that all perpetrators will be brought to justice.
So far, no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have strongly condemned the killing of seven bus passengers in Balochistan.
In their separate statement, the president and the prime minister prayed for peace for the departed souls and strength for the bereaved families to bear the loss.
“The killing of innocent people is a coward and heinous act. The terrorists are the enemies of peace and humanity. They want to mar the peace in Balochistan,” the president said and assured that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
PM Shehbaz directed the authorities concerned to bring the perpetrators to justice and said that the killers of innocent citizens would have to pay a heavy price for their act.
