At least 23 people were gunned down on Monday in Balochistan’s Musakhel district after armed men offloaded passengers from trucks and buses and shot them, Aaj News reported.

The armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham district of Musakhel and offloaded passengers from buses and shot at them after checking their identities.

All victims are reported to be from Punjab.

“The armed men also not only killed passengers but also killed the drivers of trucks carrying coal,” Hameed Zahir, the deputy commissioner of the area, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

At least 10 trucks were set on fire after their drivers had been killed, he added.

Police reached the site and launched an investigation while the bodies were shifted to the hospital.

President Asif Ali Zardari said the brutal killing of innocent people is the killing of the entire humanity, reported state-run Radio Pakistan.

Those involved in the killing of innocent people must be brought to justice, the president added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the attack and directed the local administration to provide full cooperation to the bereaved families and provide immediate medical aid to the injured.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti sought a report of the incident from law enforcement agencies.

In April, nine passengers were killed after their bus, traveling from Quetta, was intercepted by armed assailants who forced them off the bus and shot them.

The bodies were found under the bridge by the police.

The same attackers later fired at a car belonging to a provincial parliamentarian, according to a senior local police officer.