9 bus passengers shot dead in Pakistan

Militants abducted and shot dead at least nine bus passengers travelling through Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province, government officials said on Friday.

The militants boarded two buses on a major highway and checked passengers' identity cards before forcing nine people off the vehicles at gunpoint overnight on Thursday.

"The terrorists forced the two passenger buses to stop on a highway and pulled nine passengers out. They took them in an area nearby and killed all of them," local government official Naveed Alam told AFP.

The attackers specifically targeted people from Punjab, the country's most populous and prosperous province and a major recruitment base for the military.

"The forces found the dead bodies all belong to different areas of Punjab," said Saadat Hussain, another senior government official. The bodies were recovered and transported to their hometowns in Punjab on Friday morning.

The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA) later claimed responsibility for the attack.

The BLA has emerged as the biggest threat targeting foreign interests, security forces and Pakistanis from outside the province.

Balochistan is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but 70 percent of its 15 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.

In March, the militant group was behind a deadly train siege with more than 450 passengers on board. 

Last year was the deadliest in a decade for Pakistan, with a surge in attacks that killed more than 1,600 people, according to Islamabad-based analysis group the Center for Research and Security Studies.

The atack drew strong condemnation from senior leaders in Pakistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement issued by his office: “We will deal with terrorists with full force. The blood of innocent people will be avenged.”

Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti also condemned the incident, calling it “blatant terrorism”.

“The killing of innocent civilians based on Pakistani identity is an unforgivable crime,” Bugti said, vowing that the response would be “severe”.

With inputs from AFP