QUETTA: Seven passengers were offloaded from a van and shot dead on the National Highway in Barkhan, area of Balochistan, in the wee hours of Wednesday.
According to security sources, armed men cordoned off the National Highway and offloaded seven passengers after checking their ID cards and shot them dead at Rarkan.
The passenger van was bound to Faisalabad from Quetta. The passengers who were offloaded were reportedly from Punjab
According to an eyewitness, 10 to 12 armed men, carrying klashinkoves, sopped the passenger bus and offloaded seven people after checking their ID cards.
According to initial reports, the armed men are still present on the national highway, due to which the Quetta administration has stopped passenger vehicles at Rakhni Biwata and Mukhtar.
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Deputy Commissioner Barkhan Waqar Khursheed and Assistant Commissioner Khadim Hussain Bhangar reached the spot along with heavy contingent of police.
The bodies have been transported to a nearby hospital in Rakni
The authorities have sealed off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits.
In the aftermath of the incident, two-way traffic on the National Highway, linking Punjab to Balochistan, has been suspended.
CONDEMNATIONS
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have strongly condemned the killing of seven bus passengers in Barkhan, Balochistan.
In separate statements, both leaders prayed for the departed souls and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
“The killing of innocent people is a cowardly and heinous act. Terrorists are enemies of peace and humanity. They want to disrupt stability in Balochistan,” President Zardari said, assuring that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Prime Minister Shehbaz directed authorities to take swift action, vowing that those responsible would face severe consequences. “The sacrifices of innocent citizens will not go in vain. The government and security forces are determined to eliminate terrorism from the country,” he stated.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti also strongly condemned the attack, calling it an unbearable act of terror.
“Terrorists are targeting unarmed civilians. A strong response will be given,” he said, adding that those responsible would be punished.