Gunmen Kill 9 Punjabi Passengers in Pakistan Bus Attack After ID Checks

Quetta, Pakistan: In a brutal attack on Friday, gunmen in Pakistan’s volatile Balochistan province killed nine passengers from Punjab after forcibly removing them from a bus, officials reported.

The attack occurred on a national highway in the Zhob region, according to Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam. The assailants stopped a bus traveling from Quetta to Lahore, checked passengers’ identity cards, and singled out nine individuals from Punjab, who were then shot dead.

This is not the first instance of such violence in Balochistan, where passenger buses and Punjabis have been repeatedly targeted by insurgents, though no group has yet claimed responsibility for this attack. Historically, ethnic Baloch militant groups have been linked to similar targeted killings in the region.

In addition to the bus attack, insurgents launched three separate assaults in Quetta, Loralai, and Mastung, but Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind stated that security forces successfully repelled these attacks. Local media in Balochistan reported unverified claims of insurgents striking multiple targets overnight, including checkposts, government facilities, police stations, banks, and communication towers. Rind confirmed the incidents but noted no casualties were reported in these additional attacks.

Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has long been plagued by a violent insurgency. Baloch militant groups frequently target security forces, government infrastructure, and projects tied to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in this resource-rich province.

The attack follows a pattern of violence in the region. In March, five workers on heavy trailers were killed in the Kalmat area near Gwadar port. In February, insurgents in the Barkhan area executed seven Punjabi passengers after removing them from a bus.