Police said the victim was shot at close range. (representative)
Gunmen shot and killed nine men after kidnapping them from a bus in Pakistan’s southwest, a troubled province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, officials said on Saturday.
No one has claimed responsibility for Friday night’s attack in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.
Separatist Baloch militant groups in the mineral-rich region have fought the government for decades, saying it deprives them of a share of the region’s resources.
Police officer Abdullah Mengal said gunmen intercepted a bus bound for Iran in the Noshki district and after identifying the nine men as coming from the eastern province of Punjab, they They take away. “All of them are going to Taftan,” he said.
He said the victim was shot at close range.
Their bullet-riddled bodies were found an hour and a half later under the bridge, said Deputy District Commissioner Habibullah Musakhail.
Baluch rebels have previously claimed responsibility for similar killings in the area, which is home to the Gwadar deep-water port being developed by neighboring China. The rebels also targeted Chinese citizens and their interests.
Beijing has invested heavily in regional development projects as part of its $65 billion commitment to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
