Gunmen kill seven bus passengers in Pakistan
February 20, 2025 00:00:00
ISLAMABAD, Feb 19 (Reuters): Unknown armed men killed seven passengers on a Lahore-bound bus in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province late on Tuesday, officials said.
The attack took place in Barkhan, a district of southwestern Balochistan. The province bordering Afghanistan and Iran is a key battleground in Pakistan's decades-long fight against separatist insurgents, who want greater autonomy and a share of the region's natural resources.
The group of around 40 armed men stopped multiple buses and vehicles, checking national identity cards before forcing the seven passengers off the bus and shooting them, deputy commissioner Waqar Khurshid Alam, a senior administrative official, told Reuters.
All seven victims were from central Punjab province, Alam said.