9 bus passengers kidnapped, killed in Balochistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Unidentified gunmen kidnapped and killed nine bus passengers in Pakistan’s Balochistan province last night and their bodies were transported to their hometowns in Punjab province on Friday morning, local officials told media.

According to Dawn.com, at least nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men in the Sur-Dakai area, situated on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts.

Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that Fitna-al-Hindu­stan — a term the government uses for terrorist organisations in Balochistan — had carried out attacks at three different places — Kakat, Mastung, and Sur-Dakai.

The Balochistan Liberation Front, a banned outfit, later claimed responsibility for the attack.

Alam told Dawn.com on Friday that the bodies of all nine passengers were handed over to a political agent in the Sakhi Sarwar district of Dera Ghazi Khan to be handed over to their families.

He said that seven of the passengers had been identified but two could not be identified due to a lack of documents.

The country’s top leaders strongly condemned the incident and vowed action against the perpetrators “at all costs”.

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