Gunmen Kill 14 Bus Passengers in Southwest Pakistan

A Pakistani official says gunmen have ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after forcing them off the vehicle on a highway in the country’s southwest.

(Photo: The Quint)

A Pakistani official says gunmen have ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after forcing them off the vehicle on a highway in the country's southwest.

Local official Jehangir Dashti says it was unclear who was behind the killings before dawn on Thursday, 18 April.

He says about three dozen people were traveling to the southwestern port of Gwadar when gunmen stopped the bus and killed 14 people after checking their identity cards. The motive behind the killings is not known.

No one has claimed responsibility for the killings but Baluchi separatists often target security forces and people from Punjab, who tend to dominate the ranks of the military stationed in Baluchistan whom the separatists are fighting.

However, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter and said he suspects an “organised pattern” behind the attacks on the Hazara community, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Hayatabad and Thursday’s bus shooting.

He wrote, "Attack on Hazaras, TTP in Hayatabad and then today's brutal incident on coastal highway – there appears to be an organised pattern."

"We have sacrificed a lot for peace. God willing, we will make those responsible for these incidents an example," he added.

Separatists have waged a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan, demanding a fairer share of the province's resources.

(With inputs from AP)