23 killed in Balochistan as militants shoot travellers from Pak Punjab

Unidentified gunmen killed at least 23 people after forcing them out of their vehicles in Musakhail, a district in Balochistan (southwest Pakistan), on Monday (August 26), as reported by Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

The majority of those killed were identified as residents of Punjab, in Pakistan.

According to reports, the militants stopped several buses, trucks, and vans in Musakhail district, checked the passengers’ ethnicity, and then shot them. Five people were injured in the attack.

“At least 23 people were killed and five injured when militants stopped several buses, trucks and vans on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan,” the report quoted a senior official in Musakhail.

The official said, “Vehicles travelling between Punjab and Balochistan were stopped, passengers from Punjab were identified and then shot.”

Armed men reportedly blocked the inter-provincial highway in Musakhail’s Rarasham district, forced passengers out of their vehicles, and set 10 vehicles on fire.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the act of terrorism. In a statement from his office, he offered his deepest condolences to the families of the victims, calling the attack a cowardly act by terrorists.

Bugti vowed that the terrorists and their supporters would face severe punishment, adding that the Balochistan government would actively pursue the perpetrators.

Past incidents of similar killings in Pakistan

This attack in Musakhail occurred nearly four months after a similar incident targeting people from Punjab. In April, nine passengers were forced off a bus near Noshki and killed after gunmen checked their ID cards.

In October 2023, unknown gunmen shot and killed six labourers from Punjab in Turbat, Balochistan’s Kech district. Police indicated that the killings were targeted, with all victims hailing from different parts of southern Punjab, suggesting they were chosen based on their ethnicity, reported Dawn.

A similar attack took place in 2015 when gunmen killed 20 construction workers and injured three others in a pre-dawn raid on a labourers’ camp near Turbat. The victims were from Sindh and Punjab.