QUETTA: Terrorists killed 23 passengers in the Musakhel area of Balochistan after offloading them from trucks and buses early Monday morning.
SP Musakhel Ayub Achakzai said armed individuals intercepted the vehicles on the inter-provincial highway and forcibly offloaded some passengers in the Rarasham area of the district. Terrorists killed the passengers by opening fire at them after checking their identity, he added.
He said that the militants also set 10 vehicles on fire.
SP Achakzai said that police and Levies arrived at the scene and the bodies were transferred to the hospital.
He said that authorities have begun further investigations into the incident, the official news agency reported.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the terrorism incident and expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.
The CM ordered an investigation into the matter and has sought a report of the incident.
Bugti said that the terrorists and their facilitators would be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday strongly condemned the terrorist attack targeting a passenger bus in Musakhel.
They expressed their deep grief over the loss of precious lives in the attack and called for taking the perpetrators to task.
Both the president and the prime minister prayed to Allah Almighty for peace for the departed souls and strength for the bereaved families to bear the loss.
“The killing of innocent people is tantamount to killing the entire mankind. The terrorists are enemies of the country, nation, and humanity,” the president said and reiterated the nation’s resolve to keep fighting terrorism.
Prime Minister Shehbaz directed the law enforcement agencies to carry out an immediate probe into the incident. He also instructed the authorities to cooperate with victim families and extend urgent medical care to the injured.
“The perpetrators of this attack will be given an exemplary punishment. No form of terrorism is acceptable in the country. Our fight against terrorism will continue till the complete elimination of the scourge,” the prime minister resolved.
