In the Barkhan district of Balochistan, a tragic incident unfolded where at least seven individuals were mercilessly killed. Armed men intercepted a bus traveling from Quetta to Lahore in the Rahkan area.
After blocking the road, they forced passengers off the bus, scrutinized their identity documents, and tragically shot seven of them. These victims, according to sources, were reportedly from Punjab.
Barkhan Assistant Commissioner Khadim Hussain Bhangar reported that Deputy Commissioner Waqar Khursheed and he arrived swiftly at the scene, accompanied by a substantial police force. In the aftermath, traffic was halted in the Chhapar and Kangri areas to prevent further chaos. At the same time, the Assistant Commissioner announced that an emergency was declared at Rakni Hospital to manage the crisis effectively.
In a similar incident in August last year, 23 passengers were killed after being forcibly offloaded from their vehicles by armed assailants in Balochistan’s Musakhel district.
According to Musakhel SP Ayub Achakzai, the attack occurred at a checkpoint set up by the armed men on the inter-provincial highway near Rarah Sham area of Khangri, about two kilometres from Dera Ghazi Road.
The assailants forced passengers off trucks and buses and shot them after identifying them. The attackers also set fire to 10 vehicles before fleeing the scene.
Police and Levies forces arrived promptly and transported the bodies to a hospital.
Most of the deceased were reported to be from Punjab.