Unidentified gunmen killed at least 14 people after forcing them to disembark from buses in Balochistan, officials said Thursday. The attackers, who numbered around two dozen, were wearing uniforms of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, provincial home secretary Haider Ali told AFP. They "stopped buses on the Makran Coastal Highway and gunned down 14 people," he said, adding that the four vehicles were travelling to Karachi from the coastal town of Ormara.
The gunmen identified non-Baloch passengers by their identity cards and shot them, he said. All the victims are believed to be Pakistani, with a naval official and a coast guard member among the dead. Provincial home minister Mir Zia Langov said a full-scale investigation had been launched into the attack, and authorities are trying to track down the gunmen, who he said had fled the scene.
"Such incidents are intolerable and we will not spare the terrorists who carried out this dastardly attack," he said. Prime Minster Imran Khan also condemned the killings in a statement from his office. The attack came less than a week after a suicide blast claimed by the Islamic State group in Quetta killed 20 people.
Balochistan is also host to a number of major projects under the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The massive infrastructure project seeks to connect the western Chinese province of Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Balochistan. But it has also drawn its share of attacks, particularly by separatists who have long complained that residents do not receive a fair share of profits from the province's resources.
Baloch Raji Aajoi Saangar carried out the killings, said the group, which described itself as an umbrella body of three Baloch separatist movements in the region. The passengers were travelling on a coastal highway from the financial hub of Karachi towards Gwadar, the Arabian Sea port town where China is building a deep-water port.
Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langov said the dead passengers had their legs and hands tied and were found close to the town of Ormara, about halfway between Karachi and Gwadar. "Terrorists offloaded 14 persons from different buses after checking their NICs. They took them and killed them," Langov said.
Pakistani media reported earlier that the militants had kidnapped the passengers from a single bus, although Langov said it was from six or seven different vehicles. According to Levies sources, unidentified armed men intercepted five coaches travelling between Karachi and Gwadar near the Buzi Top area. The assailants checked the identity cards of passengers and offloaded 16 of them. They then opened fire, killing 14 of the offloaded passengers as two managed to escape from the scene. The bodies were shifted to a nearby health facility in Ormara.
Nine of the victims were identified as Muhammad Yousaf, Muhammad Wasim, Farhan-Ullah, Ali Raza, Zulfiqar, Muhammad Haroon, Ali Asghar, Hamza, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Wasim, and Zabin. In a statement, the President Dr Arif Alvi expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives. He said such attempts to spread mischief in the country cannot succeed. The President said the nation is united as well as committed against terrorism.
Balochistan Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai along with Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan condemned the killing of innocent passengers at Markran Coastal Highway. Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal also strongly condemned the attack on passenger buses in Balochistan. She said any terrorist act to disturb the peace and progress of Balochistan will not be tolerated and such activities cannot hinder the progress of ongoing development projects in the province.
Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Afridi, in a statement, said timing of the recent terror attacks implies that the enemy wants to harm Pakistan at the Financial Faction Task Force and other international forums. Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that those involved in recent terror attacks in the country will be brought to justice. In a tweet he said all recent terrorist incidents in the country indicate an organized pattern of crime.
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