7 of a family among 16 killed in Balochistan

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Sixteen people have been killed in two separate attacks targeting bus passengers and a house in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.

In the port city of Gwadar, unknown gunmen blocked the main highway and killing at least five passengers. Several goods-laden vehicles were set alight, a highway police official said.

Dawn quoted Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hafeez Baloch as saying five people were killed and three trailers, carrying fertiliser to Afghanistan, set on fire in Tajaban area.

He said roads were also blocked in Turbat, Panjgur and Pasni. Levies officials said roadblocks were also seen in Bolan, Kolpur and Mastung areas.

In a separate incident, four passengers were killed in Kalmat area, between Pasni and Ormara, after being offloaded from a Karachi-bound bus.

A local administration official confirmed: “Armed men killed four passengers (hailing from Punjab province) after checking their ID cards and took away three others.”

Elsewhere in the province, seven people were shot dead in a house attack in a village of Sohbat Pur district. The assailants opened fire at the house before setting it ablaze.

A senior police officer said the victims, including a woman and three children, belonged to the same family. The incident was linked to a land dispute.

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