9 labourers shot dead in Balochistan’s Nushki

Nine people from Punjab were killed near Noshki, Balochistan in the early hours of Saturday.

The deceased were travelling in a passenger bus on the National Highway from Quetta to Taftan. They were abducted after an ID check.

Their bodies were found under the bridge near a hill. All of them were shot dead, said Nushki Superintendent of Police (SP) Allah Bukhsh.

The murdered men belonged to the Mandi Bahauddin, Wazirabad and Gujranwala areas of Punjab. The deceased men were labourers.

They were shot in various parts of the body, said MS Dr Zafar Mengal of Nushki Teaching Hospital.

In a separate attack on the same highway, a car that tried to force its way through the gunmen’s cordon was fired upon, killing one passenger and injuring four, the SHO said.

Deputy Commissioner Habibullah Musakhel said over a dozen militants blocked the Quetta-Nushki-Taftan N-40 National Highway at the hilly point of Sultan Chadhai, which is around 1 kilometre away from Nushki, on Friday night.

DC Musakhel said that after blocking the highway, the armed men started checking the vehicles and opened fire on a vehicle that did not stop, killing one of the men who was a relative of the member provincial assembly.

PM takes notice

Condemning the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought the report of the incident.

He also expressed condolences over the deaths and said that the terrorists and their facilitators will be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the terrorists involved in the incident will not be pardoned.

“The terrorists involved in the attacks would be chased,” he said adding that their aim was to sabotage the peace of Balochistan.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the incident, saying that the government stands with the families of the deceased at this time.

“There is no room for such a tragic incident in Quaid-e-Azam’s Pakistan,” he added.