At least nine passengers traveling on two Punjab-bound buses were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men on Thursday night in the Sur-Dakai area, located on the border of Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts.
Zhob Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam confirmed that the bodies of the nine abducted individuals had been recovered and were being transported to Rakhni for onward delivery to their hometowns in Punjab.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind confirmed the incident, attributing it to Fitna al Hindustan, a term used for terrorist groups operating in the province. He added that similar attacks had also occurred in Kakat and Mastung, and security forces had launched an operation to recover any remaining kidnapped passengers.
Sources reported that the two buses were stopped near the N-70 highway, close to Dab in the Loralai-Zhob border region, by armed men who had blocked the road.
The attackers boarded the coaches, checked passengers’ identity cards, and forcibly removed ten individuals at gunpoint — seven from one bus and three from the other.
A surviving passenger told Levies that after identifying and dragging the victims out, the assailants took them away while gunfire was heard in the background. The remaining passengers were then allowed to proceed.
Security forces immediately halted traffic on the highway and began an extensive search operation to apprehend the attackers.
Sources revealed that the armed men specifically checked CNICs and targeted passengers with Punjab addresses. They also fired shots at the buses during the abduction to deter any resistance or escape attempts.
A senior police official confirmed reports of the nine abducted passengers being killed by the attackers.
Later, the banned Balochistan Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesperson stated that their group had blocked the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri and executed the killings.
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