In a brazen act of brutality, militants affiliated with Fitna-al-Hindustan abducted and executed nine passengers traveling from Quetta to Lahore on Thursday night. The incident occurred near the Sordakoi area, situated along the Zhob-Loralai border in Balochistan. According to a report published in Dawn, the assailants intercepted two passenger coaches near Dub, along the N-70 Highway. Armed militants boarded the vehicles, conducted ID checks, and forcibly removed ten passengers. Shortly after, they allowed the buses to continue on their way.
Naveed Alam, the Assistant Commissioner of Zhob, confirmed that nine of the abducted passengers had been killed and their bodies recovered. He added that the victims’ remains were being transported to Rakni for onward transfer to their native towns in Punjab.
A surviving passenger told Levies personnel, “They took seven people from one coach and three from the other. I don’t know what they did with them, but as soon as we left the area, I heard the sound of gunshots.”
Security forces immediately launched a large-scale search operation in the surrounding areas and suspended all traffic along the affected highway. According to intelligence sources, the militants specifically targeted passengers based on their identities, focusing on individuals from Punjab. In a bid to prevent any escape, the attackers reportedly opened fire on the coaches during the abduction.
Shahid Rind, spokesperson for the Balochistan government, confirmed that Fitna-al-Hindustan carried out coordinated attacks at three separate locations Kakkar, Mastung, and Sordakoi. He added that reports of abductions from the Sordakoi area had been received and that a comprehensive rescue operation was underway.
Later, the banned outfit Balochistan Liberation Front identified as part of Fitna-al-Hindustan claimed responsibility for the heinous attack. The group’s spokesperson stated that the victims were executed after militants blocked the highway between Musakhel, Mukhtar, and Khajuri.
This gruesome attack marks another bloody chapter in Fitna-al-Hindustan’s ongoing campaign of targeted violence in Balochistan, further deepening the sense of insecurity and grief across the province.
