Baloch militants behind killing of 11 people in Pak
Islamabad: Baloch militants claimed responsibility for killing 11 people in separate attacks in Pakistan’s restive southwest, according to a media report on Sunday.
Nine young men, hailing from the Punjab province, were killed in the Noshki area of the Balochistan province on Saturday when gunmen forced them off a bus they were travelling in and kidnapped them after verifying their Punjabi ethnicity. Later, they killed them and dumped their bodies under a nearby bridge.
In a separate incident, two people were killed on the same highway when gunmen fired at their car after they tried to break through their cordon.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killings, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The nine people from Punjab were on their way to Iran, from where they were planning to enter Europe via Turkiye, according to the report.
They left their towns on April 7 with visas stamped for Iran and Iraq but had no plans to stay in these countries.
Quoting local people, the report said that their actual destination was Europe, which they wanted to reach via Turkiye but had procured valid visas for Iraq and Iran to avoid Iranian immigration authorities.
They wanted to avoid the scrutiny of the Iranian border officials by pretending to be pilgrims going to holy sites in the two countries.
Iranian border officials often consider young Pakistanis as illegal immigrants trying to enter Europe via Turkiye, which borders Iran, the report said.
The government vowed strict action against the militants. Baloch nationalists often carry out such acts of violence against the people of
Punjab.
