Islamabad, March 27 (IANS) At least six labourers hailing from the Punjab province were killed in a firing incident in Kalmat area of Balochistan’s Gwadar district early Thursday after unknown gunmen blocked the main highway and offloaded them from a Karachi-bound passenger bus after checking their IDs.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the overnight killing of passengers.
“The terrorists are the enemies of the country’s development and prosperity in Balochistan. They cannot see progress in Balochistan,” said Zardari.
“We will never allow the anti-state designs of miscreants to succeed,” added PM Shehbaz.
As per reports, the labourers were offloaded from the bus after checking their identifications and were killed by the militants. Police sources confirmed that five victims were from Punjab’s Sadiqabad city, while one was from Multan.
“Five of the victims died instantly, and one succumbed to injuries later while receiving treatment at the hospital,” said a police official.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hafeez Baloch said that three trucks carrying urea from Gwadar port were also set on fire in the Tajaban area.
Baloch also revealed that more roadblocks were found in other areas of Balochistan in what seemed like a plan for more attacks.
“Roads were blocked in Turbat, Panjgur and Pasni. Roadblocks were also witnessed in the Bolan, Kolpur and Mastung areas. One of Levies’ vehicles was also set on fire in the Mastung area,” he said.
This is the latest targetted attack on citizens, workers and labourers hailing from the Punjab province and working in Balochistan. It comes at a severely tense situation prevailing across the province after the Jaffar Express train hijacking by terrorists belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) earlier this month in which 26 hostages, including 18 security personnel, lost their lives while five security personnel were killed during the clearance operation.
The targetted attacks and killing of citizens from the Punjab province has been going on for some time now in Balochistan with BLA militants attacking passenger buses, coal mines and even shops and other places after identification of Punjabi workers and labourers.
Last week, at least four labourers from Punjab were shot dead by unknown assailants in Balochistan’s Kalat district while four policemen were gunned down in Noshki. On March 16, three security personnel and two civilians were killed as a suicide bomber attacked a security convoy in the Noshki district.
Last month, seven Punjab-bound passengers were offloaded from a bus and shot dead in Barkhan district.
In August 2024, BLA militants killed at least 23 travellers from Punjab province, who were offloaded after identification and shot dead in Musakhail district.
–IANS
int/hamza/as
