23 killed in militant attacks on buses in southwestern Pakistan, officials confirm

Shafaq News/ At least 23 people were killed in a series of attacks by militants in southwestern Pakistan, local reports affirmed on Monday.

Pakistani officials reported, “Militants targeted multiple buses and trucks on the highway connecting Punjab and Balochistan, forcing passengers to disembark before verifying their identities.”

AFP initially reported 22 deaths, but the Associated Press and Reuters confirmed that 23 passengers were killed in the attack.

Moreover, Najibullah Kakar, a senior official in Musakhail, Balochistan, pointed out that “militants halted the vehicles, resulting in 22 deaths and 5 injuries.”

“Among the victims were 19 Punjabis and 3 Baloch, mostly Punjabi laborers.”

Militants engaged in a long-standing ethnic insurgency seeking Balochistan's secession from Pakistan have targeted workers from Punjab, whom they accuse of exploiting the region's resources.