Gunmen Kill Nine Lahore-Bound Bus Passengers in Balochistan Attacks

At least nine passengers traveling from Quetta to Lahore were abducted and killed by armed insurgents in Balochistan, Pakistan, after being selectively removed from a bus based on their Punjab identity cards. The victims' bodies were found with bullet wounds in mountainous areas near Zhob, with no group immediately claiming responsibility, though Baloch separatist militants, including the Baloch Liberation Army, are suspected due to their history of targeting passengers from Punjab. The Balochistan government condemned the attacks, attributing them to the group Fitna-e-Hindustan, and security forces are conducting operations to track down the assailants. Multiple coordinated attacks also occurred in Quetta, Loralai, and Mastung districts but were repelled by security forces. Provincial officials and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed a strong response to these acts of terrorism, emphasizing the commitment to dismantling terror networks and avenging the killings. The violence underscores the ongoing insurgency in the mineral-rich Balochistan region, where ethnic militants oppose perceived exploitation by Pakistan's central government.