Massacre on the Highway: Gunmen Slaughter 9 Punjab Passengers in Balochistan Terror Attack!
Insurgents in Pakistan’s Balochistan province brutally killed nine Punjab passengers on a bus, escalating ethnic violence in the region.
In a chilling attack, armed insurgents gunned down nine passengers from Punjab on a bus traveling from Quetta to Lahore in Pakistan’s volatile Balochistan province on Friday. The assault occurred on the national highway in Zhob, where the attackers stopped the bus, checked passengers’ ID cards, and executed nine individuals identified as Punjabis, according to Zhob Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam.
“The bodies have been moved to the hospital for post-mortem and burial procedures,” Alam confirmed. This marks yet another targeted attack on Punjabis in Balochistan, a region plagued by a decades-long insurgency. No group has officially claimed responsibility, though ethnic Baloch terrorist groups have previously carried out similar attacks, often targeting Punjabis, security forces, and projects linked to the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The incident coincides with reports of three other attacks in Quetta, Loralai, and Mastung, where insurgents targeted checkposts, government installations, police stations, banks, and communication towers. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind stated that security forces repelled these attacks with no reported casualties.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, remains a hotspot for separatist violence, with insurgents demanding greater autonomy and control over the province’s oil and mineral resources. Recent attacks include the killing of five trailer workers near Gwadar port in March and seven Punjab passengers in Barkhan in February, highlighting a pattern of ethnic-targeted violence.
Social media posts on X reflect outrage, with some users alleging involvement of the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), a banned group, though these claims remain unverified. The attack underscores the persistent security challenges in Balochistan as the region braces for further unrest ahead of its ongoing insurgency.
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