10 foreign tourists shot dead in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (PAN’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan province, an official said on Sunday.

The foreigners, including five Ukrainians, three Chinese, a Russian and their guide, were killed in an attack on a remote resort area near the base camp for the Nanga Parbat Mountain.

Gilgit-Baltistan police chief, Ali Sher, told reporters the overnight incident took place at 11.pm on Saturday night when the gunmen stormed a hotel in Diamer area where the tourists were staying.

He added security personnel had been sent to the area to investigate the attack. With the Jundullah group claiming responsibility, Sher said the gunmen fled after the shooting.

Ahmed Marwat, a spokesman for the group, told the Reuters news agency: “These foreigners are our enemies and we proudly claim responsibility for killing them and will continue such attacks in the future as well.”

Calling the incident an attack on Pakistan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the visitors should be monitored from the moment they land in Pakistan.

Speaking in the National Assembly, the minister acknowledged all state institutions were weak and had failed to prevent such attacks. Nisar vowed to ensure security across the country.

mds/mud