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by IANS |
Islamabad, July 11 (IANS) At least nine passengers were abducted and killed by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan's Balochistan province, the spokesperson of the provincial government confirmed on Friday.
The incident occurred near Zhob, a town in northern Balochistan, where armed assailants intercepted passenger buses late Thursday evening, took passengers off, and shot them dead selectively after checking their identity cards.
"They shot dead the passengers belonging to the eastern Punjab province, after taking them to a certain distance from the buses, and their bodies have been recovered," Shahid Rind, spokesperson of the provincial government, was quoted as saying by the local media.
He added that following the incident, security forces have launched a search operation in the affected area to recover any remaining abducted passengers and apprehend the perpetrators.
Some reports indicated that all the nine people killed were Pakistani military intelligence agents who were travelling to Lahore from Quetta.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, calling the incident a heinous act of terrorism.
“We will deal with terrorists with full force. The blood of innocent people will be avenged. With resolve, unity, and strength, we will confront the scourge of terrorism and uproot it completely," read a statement issued by the Pakistan PM's Office.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti also strongly condemned the violent act and pledged to ensure justice by holding the culprits accountable.
"We will crush every single terror plan with full force, unwavering resolve, and complete unity," Bugti said in a statement.
Following the latest incident, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday called for a "fair political solution" to the longstanding issues in Balochistan.
"HRCP is deeply grieved by the killing of at least nine passengers who were ordered to disembark from Punjab-bound coaches and were subsequently shot near the border between districts Loralai and Zhob in Balochistan," read a s HRCP statement.
"HRCP demands that the federal and provincial governments move urgently to seek a fair political solution to the longstanding issues in Balochistan," it added.
Last month, at least six coaches of Pakistan's Jaffar Express had derailed following a blast on the railway tracks, near Jacobabad in Sindh province.
The train was en route from Quetta to Peshawar when the explosion occurred.
The Baloch Republican Guards, an armed Baloch separatist organisation, had claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jaffar Express, as well as for targetting containers linked to the Reko Diq project in Chagai, Balochistan, The Balochistan Post reported.
"The Jaffar Express is used by the occupying Pakistani army for the movement of its personnel, and our attacks will be severe in the future," the spokesperson had warned.
"Such attacks will continue until the independence of Balochistan," he had added.
People of Balochistan are currently fighting for their independence from Pakistan. Recently, the BLA released a media statement titled 'A New Order has Become Inevitable in the Region', urging the world to recognise Pakistan as the creator of terrorists and a terrorist entity. It said that the history of Pakistan, currently facing diplomatic isolation for failed military policies, has been written with the patronage of broken promises, back-stabbing, and terrorism.
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