By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: Three people were killed and 12 others injured in Pakistan’s southwestern Kalat district on Wednesday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus traveling from Karachi to Quetta in the latest wave of violence plaguing the country’s restive Balochistan province.
The assault occurred near Nimragh Cross on the N-25 highway, a vital artery connecting Balochistan to the southern port city of Karachi. Kalat Station House Officer Habibullah Baloch told reporters that the attackers “sprayed” the bus with bullets, firing indiscriminately without stopping to check the passengers’ identities. “Three passengers, residents of Karachi, were killed in the attack and 12 others were wounded,” Baloch said. The injured were rushed to District Hospital Kalat.
Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind condemned the shooting, calling it a “tragic incident.” “Three passengers were martyred and seven were injured in the tragic incident,” Rind said in a statement, though police reported a higher injury toll.
Rind confirmed that an emergency had been declared at the hospital and that security forces, district administration, and rescue teams were mobilized to the scene. “Security forces have surrounded the area and a search operation is underway,” he said. “Security forces are pursuing the attackers.”
Initial reports suggest the gunmen had lain in wait. “Based on initial info, terrorists were sitting in ambush, they stopped the bus and then attacked,” Rind said, noting that the assault appeared coordinated from both sides of the road, though the exact number of assailants remains unclear.
No group has claimed responsibility, but the attack fits a pattern of violence by separatist militants in Balochistan, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which often targets civilians and security forces.
The attack underscores the precarious security situation in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, where a decades-long separatist insurgency has intensified in recent months. Militant groups, including the banned BLA, have targeted security forces, government installations, and civilians, particularly those from Punjab, the country’s most populous and prosperous province, seen as a symbol of central authority.
The BLA and others accuse Islamabad of plundering the region’s mineral wealth while neglecting its people, a charge the federal government denies, pointing to development efforts like China’s Belt and Road projects, including a deep-sea port in Gwadar.
The attack follows a similar incident last week in the Sur-Dakai area, where gunmen abducted and killed nine passengers. The Balochistan Liberation Front, another banned outfit, claimed responsibility, stating it had blocked the highway and executed the victims. Pakistan has long accused India of stoking such unrest in Balochistan and supporting religiously motivated militants, like the Pakistani Taliban, in neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti called the attack “a cowardly and despicable act of terrorism.” “The loss of precious lives is an irreparable tragedy,” Bugti wrote on X. “The terrorist organizations of Fitna-Al-Hindustan have previously carried out attacks based on identity, but now they are indiscriminately targeting civilians, which clearly shows that this war is against every ordinary Pakistani, and we will defeat it at all costs!” The term “Fitna-Al-Hindustan” reflects the government’s narrative of Indian-backed terrorism.
The Kalat attack was not an isolated incident on Wednesday. In Balochistan’s Awaran district, the military reported that Major Syed Rabnawaz Tariq, 34, from Muzaffarabad, was killed during an intelligence-based operation targeting “terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al-Hindustan.”
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said security forces “effectively engaged the terrorist location and resultantly, three Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell.” But the firefight claimed Tariq’s life as he led his troops. “A brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and paid the ultimate sacrifice,” the ISPR statement read, adding that a sanitization operation was underway. “The security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve.”
Meanwhile, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, two policemen, Head Constable Ghulam Muhammad and Constable Shahzad, both ex-servicemen, were killed in a terrorist attack in the Kulachi area.
DI Khan Police Spokesperson Yaqoob Khan said the officers were ambushed while heading to buy food. Police and Counter Terrorism Department personnel later tracked the assailants, killing one terrorist and injuring two others who escaped. “Weapons and ammunition have been recovered from the slain terrorist, while a search operation is underway for the terrorists at large,” Khan said.
The spate of attacks across Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa highlights the persistent security challenges confronting Pakistan. Despite years of military operations, militant groups continue to strike at will, targeting both soft civilian targets and hardened security personnel.
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