Gunmen in south-west Pakistan have killed at least 22 people after forcibly removing them from their vehicles and checking their identities, according to officials.
The attack took place overnight on a highway in Balochistan province, an area plagued by sectarian, ethnic, and separatist violence.
The attackers, reportedly numbering between 30 and 40, stopped 22 vehicles and specifically targeted individuals from Punjab, shooting them before setting the vehicles on fire, officials stated.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack in Musa Khel district.
Najibullah Kakar, a senior local official, told AFP, “Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot.”
The BLA stated that they were targeting military personnel traveling in civilian clothes, according to Reuters.
The group also warned the Baloch public to avoid the highway, declaring that their “fight is against the occupying Pakistani military.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief and condemnation over the terrorist attack” in a statement issued by his office.
Balochistan, despite being Pakistan’s largest province and rich in resources, remains the least developed.
The BLA and other Baloch separatists have escalated attacks on Punjabis and Sindhis from other regions of Pakistan working in the area, as well as on foreign energy companies accused of exploiting the region without sharing the profits.
In a similar incident in April, nine passengers were killed in Balochistan after being removed from a bus and shot following identity checks.
Over the past 24 hours, the BLA has launched a series of attacks on multiple government installations, including police stations and security forces’ camps across the province.
Several Western countries, including the UK and US, have designated the BLA as a global terrorist organization.
Source-BBC
