Twenty-three persons were reported to have been killed in the southwest of Pakistan on Monday, where some gunmen ordered the victims to come out of their car before shooting them, a news agency said. The brutal incident took place in the Musakhail district in Balochistan province, where militants targeted passengers traveling on the Punjab-Balochistan highway. The attackers ambushed and stopped many buses, trucks, and vans; the occupants were also ordered to get out, depending on their race, and then shot. Five other people were injured in the attack.
Musakhail senior official Najibullah Kakar also confirmed the details with the AFP. “At least 22 people were killed and five injured as militants stopped several buses, trucks, and vans on a highway linking Punjab with Balochistan,” Kakar said. He also stressed that the attackers checked cars and identified their victims based on their ethnicity, especially targeting Punjabi people.
Pursuant to the shootings, the attackers restrained the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham district of Musakhail, and this hindered traffic and created insecurity within the region. Similar information was given in the Dawn, where Assistant Commissioner Musakhail Najeeb Kakar also revealed that according to the eyewitness accounts, the gunmen not only offloaded the passengers but also burnt 10 vehicles, thus adding terror and fear to the situation in the area.
This attack underscores the continued insecurity and the volatile situation in Baluchistan, where separatists, insurgents, and militants are known to operate. The call for individuals to be attacked on the basis of ethnic origins is evidence that demonstrates the existence of ethnic divisions as well as the ever-simmering violence. This has ignited the curiosity of the authorities, and security forces are already in the process of hunting for the gunmen. However, it has brought more harm to the community as it has raised concerns about the safety of anyone who wishes to travel in the region as well as the persisting conflict.
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