At least 23 killed in militant attack on Pakistani highway

Balochi separatists shot passengers who identified as Punjabi

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

Armed militants in southwestern Pakistan targeted Punjabis by ordering them out of vehicles on a major highway and shooting them dead.

Between 30 and 40 attackers, reportedly from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), blocked a major road in the Musakhail district and intercepted buses, vans, and trucks travelling between Punjab and Balochistan. They forced passengers off vehicles, checked their identities, and shot 23 of those who identified as Punjabi, in an attack that has shocked the country.

Punjabis, the largest ethnic group in Pakistan, are seen as dominant in the military, which is actively engaged in combating Balochistan’s separatist factions.

“Vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” local senior police official Najeeb Kakar was quoted as saying. The attackers also set fire to at least 10 vehicles, leaving a trail of destruction and panic. They stopped 22 vehicles on the highway.

In a separate incident, gunmen killed at least nine people, including four police officers and five passers-by, in the Qalat district.