At least six passengers killed by armed men in Gwadar

At least six passengers were killed on Wednesday night in a brutal attack on a Karachi-bound bus in the Kalmat area of the Gwadar district, Balochistan.

According to Gwadar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamoodur Rehman, armed men intercepted the bus, offloaded the passengers, and executed five of them.

Earlier, the death of five passengers had been confirmed. However, one of the injured later succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at the hospital. The authorities have confirmed that one of the deceased hailed from the Punjab district of Multan, while the other victims were all travelling to Karachi.

The brutal act of violence occurred just days after armed assailants killed four workers from Punjab in Mangochar, Balochistan.

Gunmen targeted and killed the workers who were involved in the installation of tube wells in Langzai. Local officials confirmed that the victims were from Sadiqabad, Punjab.

Separately, seven people were killed in an attack on a house in a village in the Sohbat Pur district when unidentified individuals opened fire and then set the house ablaze.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Yousaf Banghar, the deceased were from the same family and included a woman and three children. He said the incident was related to a land dispute between the victims and the attackers.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in separate statements, prayed for peace for the departed souls and condemned the killing of the five passengers in the shooting incident in Gwadar’s Kalmat area on Thursday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

The president remarked, “The terrorists are the enemies of the country’s development and prosperity of Balochistan. They cannot see progress in Balochistan.”

Condemning the Gwadar attack on passengers, the PM expressed sorrow and grief over the loss of lives and directed relevant authorities to probe the attack and bring those responsible to justice. “We will never allow the anti-state designs of miscreants to succeed,” Shehbaz Sharif added.

Reaffirming the government's commitment, the prime minister vowed to thwart any anti-state agendas. He also commended the security forces and law enforcement agencies for their efforts in protecting the country, expressing national pride in their actions.

Condemning the incident, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Offloading innocent passengers from a bus and murdering them based on their identity is a heinous and cowardly act.”

Extending his condolences to the bereaved families, CM Bugti pledged that the “war against hardcore terrorists would continue and they would be brought to justice by all means”.