Mastung: Armed individuals opened fire on a Balochistan Education Department coaster bus in the Garokh area of Khad Koocha, located along the Quetta-Karachi National Highway.
According to police authorities, the bus was en route from Quetta to Panjgur when it was targeted. The attack left four people injured.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has increasingly shifted its tactics from targeting security forces to launching lethal attacks on defenseless civilians, including passengers, laborers, and common citizens.
Operating predominantly in Balochistan, the separatist militant group has orchestrated numerous operations aimed at non-local civilians, particularly ethnic Punjabis and Sindhis, under the guise of resisting state exploitation.
A grim hallmark of their strategy involves setting up illegal checkpoints on major national highways, such as the Quetta-Karachi and Makran Coastal Highways.
Militants intercept buses and trucks, check the identity cards of passengers, and execute those hailing from other provinces. Beyond highway ambushes, the BLA frequently targets low-income laborers working on infrastructure, mining, and development projects.
By executing these daily-wage workers, the group seeks to sabotage economic development, instill fear, and deter non-local workforce participation in the region.
Human rights organizations and regional analysts heavily criticize these tactics, pointing out that killing impoverished laborers and ordinary travelers constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to ethnic profiling.
While the BLA claims to fight for Baloch autonomy, its violent campaign against everyday citizens has alienated broader public sympathy and deeply traumatized local communities.
The government and security forces have consistently launched counter-terrorism operations to secure key transit routes and protect vulnerable workers, yet the persistent threat of hit-and-run tactics on vast, isolated highways remains a critical security challenge.
Ultimately, the deliberate targeting of the working class has only deepened the humanitarian crisis in Balochistan, shifting the conflict’s toll onto innocent people just trying to make a living.
Two of the wounded individuals have been urgently shifted to Quetta to receive necessary medical treatment.
