Pakistan: Seven passengers lined up, gunned down by unknown gunmen in Balochistan

Officials told Dawn News that a group of around 40 armed men stopped several buses and other vehicles near Rakhani, on the Barkhan-Dera Ghazi Khan Highway.

“Armed men offloaded seven passengers from a coach after checking their identity cards and killed them,” Barkhan Deputy Commissioner Waqar Khurshid Alam told the newspaper.

“All seven who were travelling in the coach belonged to Punjab, and were on their way to Lahore,” he said.

After disembarking them from the coach, the gunmen opened fire, killing them on the spot, he said.

He said the attackers managed to escape from the spot after the incident.

The bodies of the seven slain men were shifted to hospital.

The Barkhan deputy commissioner told Dawn News that FC and levies personnel had reached the site and cordoned off the area.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

BLA Factor

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is active in the region.

The group has previously claimed responsibility for several attacks in the area the past.

Balochistan has witnessed a rise in terror attacks in recent years.

Spike In Terrorism

There has been a similar spike in terror activities in Pakistan over the past several years.

In May 2024, seven barbers were shot dead in Gwadar.

In August, 23 travellers were offloaded from trucks and buses and shot in Musakhail region of the South Asian country.

Balochistan has been witnessing security forces battling sectarian, ethnic and separatist violence for several years.

The mineral-rich region is located in a diplomatically crucial area since it shares Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan and Iran.

As per Islamabad-based analysis group Center for Research and Security Studies, 2024 was one of the deadliest for Pakistan when at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks occurred.

Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e. 1612 fatalities, accounting for over 63% of the total recorded this year and marking 73% more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated, the group said in a statement.

The overall fatalities recorded in 2024 were a record 9-year high, and over 66% more than 2023.