Gunmen Kill Seven Bus Passengers in Balochistan, Pakistan
Taken from Reuters
QUETTA, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Seven passengers traveling on a Lahore-bound bus were killed late Tuesday night by unidentified gunmen in Barkhan, a district in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. According to deputy commissioner Waqar Khurshid Alam, around 40 armed men stopped various buses and vehicles, checked passengers' national identity cards, and forced seven individuals off the bus before executing them.
All victims were from the central Punjab province, Alam confirmed. Khadim Hussain, assistant commissioner for the area, stated that the incident took place on the highway connecting Barkhan to Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab. Although the area has been cordoned off, the attackers managed to escape, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, remains a hotspot in Pakistan's long-running struggle with separatist insurgencies, where militants demand more autonomy and a fair share of natural resources.
This tragic incident follows a bombing on Friday targeting coal miners, which left 11 people dead and injured six others. Additionally, last August, separatist militants carried out a series of attacks across Pakistan, including a roadside assault that killed 23 people. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) took credit for those attacks, calling the operation "Haruf" or "dark windy storm." The BLA remains the largest of the ethnic armed groups waging conflict against the government.
Insurgents have also targeted Chinese nationals and investments in Balochistan, where China is developing the Gwadar sea port. Beijing’s $65 billion investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
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