Islamabad – Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, strongly condemned the abduction and brutal killing of nine Punjabi passengers from buses in the Zhob district of Balochistan.
He stated that dragging unarmed civilians off buses and murdering them in cold blood is an act of extreme cowardice and barbarism.
Bilawal vowed that such open acts of terrorism would be met with a strong response and that the innocent blood of the victims would not go unaccounted for.
He emphasized that the entire nation, including Balochistan, stands united in denouncing this terrorist attack and will firmly resist such elements.
He expressed deep sympathy with the families of the martyrs and said that every Pakistani shares in their grief.
It is noteworthy that the bodies of the nine murdered Punjabi passengers, who were targeted based on their identity cards, were received at the Balochistan-Punjab border and sent to their hometowns.
According to Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan, Ashfaq Ahmed, the bodies were received by Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Usman Khalid and Commandant Asad Chandia.
Fifteen ambulances were used to transport the victims, each accompanied by a government official.
The administration reported that the victims were from Lahore, Gujrat, Khanewal, Gujranwala, Lodhran, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Muzaffargarh. Among them were two brothers, Jabar and Usman, from Dunyapur, Lodhran, who were returning home from Balochistan to attend their father’s funeral.
They were pulled off the bus in front of their family and taken into the mountains where they were killed. Now, their family must endure the grief of three funerals simultaneously.
Other victims included Muhammad Irfan from D.G. Khan, Sabir from Kamoke (Gujranwala), Muhammad Asif from Muzaffargarh, Ghulam Saeed from Khanewal, Muhammad Junaid from Lahore, Muhammad Bilal from Attock, and Bilawal from Gujrat.
Asif from Muzaffargarh had been married only three months earlier. Ghulam Saeed was returning to care for his ailing father and leaves behind several children, the youngest being just four months old.
Sabir, who worked in a catering center in Balochistan, was the sole breadwinner for his family and was returning to meet his four children after working there for 15 years.
The attack occurred during the night between July 10 and 11, when terrorists affiliated with the banned group Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), also known as “Fitna-e-Hindustan,” stopped two passenger buses traveling from Quetta to Lahore.
After checking passengers’ identity cards, they abducted at least nine people and shot them dead.
The BLF later claimed responsibility, stating the attack took place between Musa Khel, Mukhtar, and Khajuri.
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Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the horrific terrorist attack and expressed profound sorrow over the martyrdom of innocent passengers.
