23 from Punjab shot dead in Balochistan

QUETTA: Armed people blocked a highway in Musakhel town of Balochistan and shot dead at least 23 passengers after dragging them down from buses.

According to media reports on Monday morning, armed men occupied roads and highways in different parts of Balochistan. In one such incident, the culprits blocked a highway at Ralasham area of Musakhel. They killed at least 23 people after dragging them down from buses and trucks.

The assistant commissioner of Musakhel said that the armed men stopped buses and trucks on the inter-provincial highway, checked the CNICs of the passengers and shot dead all those from Punjab. 

SSP Musakhel Ayub Achakzai told media that the armed persons also set fire to 10 vehicles. He said police and other law enforcement agencies reached the area and shifted the dead bodies to hospitals.

In a similar incident, armed persons blocked a highway in Qalat and killed 10 people, including four Levies and one police personnel.

However, it’s strange that when the armed people were blocking the road and killing passengers, there were no police or other law enforcement agencies personnel. The authorities, as usual, said that the incident was being investigated.

In Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Musakhel killings and ordered am investigation.