The Kashmir Pulse

KARACHI — Unidentified gunmen in a targeted attack shot and killed at least 23 people from Pakistan’s Punjab province on Monday in the restive Balochistan province after offloading them from buses and checking their identities. The incident happened in Balochistan’s Musakhel district.

Senior Superintendent of Police Ayub Khoso said that militants of an outlawed group put up blocks on the highway in the Rarashim area of the Musakhel district and offloaded 23 passengers. He, however, did not identify the outfit.

“The passengers were told to get down from buses and shot dead after being identified from their national ID cards,” Khoso said.

“Most of those killed belonged to southern Punjab and some are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suggesting they were killed because of their ethnic background,” he added.

Khoso said the armed men had also set some 12 vehicles on fire on the highway before fleeing into the nearby mountainous terrain.

Police reached the spot and shifted the bodies to the hospital.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the incident of terrorism. He expressed heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of those who died in the cowardly act of terrorists.

"The terrorists and their facilitators will not be able to escape an exemplary end," he said, adding that the Balochistan government will pursue the terrorists.

The Musakhel attack comes months nearly four months after a similar attack targeting people from Punjab. In April, nine passengers were offloaded from a bus near Noshki and shot dead after gunmen checked their ID cards.

In October last year, unidentified gunmen fatally shot six labourers hailing from Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan’s Kech district. According to the police, the killings were targeted. All victims belonged to different areas of southern Punjab, suggesting they had been chosen for their ethnic background.

A similar incident occurred in 2015 when gunmen killed 20 construction workers and injured three others in a pre-dawn attack on a labourers’ camp near Turbat.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — Militants opened fire at a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Sunday evening, killing nine people and injuring 33, police said.

The 53-seater bus, en route from Shiv Khori temple to Katra, veered off the road following the gunfire and fell into a deep gorge. The incident took place around 6:15 pm near Teryath village in Poni area.

SSP Reasi Mohita Sharma said, "Initial reports suggest that terrorists fired upon the passenger bus going from Shiv Khori to Katra. Due to the firing, the bus driver lost the balance of the bus and it fell into the gorge. 33 people were injured in the incident."

"Rescue operation has been completed. The identities of the passengers have not been confirmed yet, they are not locals. Shiv Khori shrine was secured and area domination was done," she said.

The attack marks a significant escalation in violence in the region as Reasi district has been relatively untouched by militant activities compared to neighbouring areas such as Rajouri and Poonch.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse