Nine passengers travelling from Quetta to Punjab kidnapped and killed by terrorists

Nine passengers were kidnapped and brutally killed by terrorists from the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) on Thursday night. The victims were travelling from Quetta to Lahore in two separate passenger coaches when the attack took place in the Sur-Dakai area, located on the border between Zhob and Loralai districts of Balochistan.

According to Assistant Commissioner Zhob Naveed Alam, the terrorists blocked the road near the N-70 highway, close to Dab, and abducted passengers at gunpoint before executing nine of them.

The bodies were later shifted to Rakhni hospital and will be transported to Punjab for burial.

Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants intercepted the two buses, removed seven passengers from one coach and three from the other, and took them to an isolated location.

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Gunshots were heard shortly after. Before carrying out the killings, the terrorists checked the CNICs of the passengers and specifically targeted those from Punjab.

The BLF claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that its operatives blocked the highway and executed nine individuals.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that the banned group Fitna-ul-Hindustan was behind three terrorist attacks that occurred in Kalat, Mastung, and Loralai on the same day. He said security forces successfully repelled some of these attacks.

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Rind condemned the massacre, calling it a continuation of previous acts of terrorism by Fitna-ul-Hindustan. 

He also revealed that there had been prior intelligence of a potential threat, and the N-70 highway had been officially closed to passenger buses. However, one of the coaches involved in the incident was operating despite the closure, which led to this tragedy.

The deceased passengers were residents of various cities across Punjab. Authorities are currently working to identify the victims.