Nine Passengers Abducted and Killed by Armed Men in Balochistan

At least nine passengers traveling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men in the Sur-Dakai area, located on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts, late Thursday night.

Zhob Assistant Commissioner Naveed Alam confirmed the incident, stating, “Nine individuals abducted from the coaches have been killed, and their bodies recovered.”

He added that the bodies are being transported to Rakhni for onward transfer to their native towns in Punjab.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind also confirmed the attack, attributing it to a terrorist group referred to as Fitna al Hindustan.

He noted that the group had launched coordinated attacks at three separate locations: Kakat, Mastung, and Sur-Dakai.

“There are reports about the kidnapping of some passengers from Sur-Dakai area,” he said, adding that security forces had launched a search operation to safely recover any remaining kidnapped passengers.

According to sources, two passenger coaches en route to Punjab were intercepted in the Sur-Dakai area near the N-70 highway, close to Dab — a place along the Loralai-Zhob border.

A group of armed men had blocked the road and stopped the two vehicles.

The armed assailants boarded the coaches, checked the identity cards of passengers and forced 10 persons off the vehicles at gunpoint.

“They dragged out 10 passengers — seven from one coach and three from the other — and took them away (to an unknown place),” a surviving passenger told Levies. “I don’t know what they did to them, but I heard gunfire as we were leaving.”

After abducting the nine passengers, the assailants allowed both coaches to leave the area.

Security forces suspended traffic on the highway and began a large-scale search operation to locate the perpetrators.

According to sources, the attackers checked the CNICs of all passengers and specifically targeted individuals with Punjab addresses. They also opened fire on the coaches during the abduction to prevent any escape.

“There are reports about the killing of nine passengers who were kidnapped by the armed men,” a senior police official told Dawn.

The Balochistan Liberation Front, a banned outfit, later claimed responsibility for the attack.

A spokesman for the group said they had killed the nine individuals after blocking the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri.

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