The wounds of the Safoora Goth incident were still fresh when another similar tragedy hit Balochistan, a province already under the grip of violence since more than a decade.

The abduction and killing of at least 22 bus passengers in Mastung is a brutal reminder of a similar incident that occurred last year when a bus carrying Shia pilgrims had been bombed, killing 22 on board.

Scores of people have lost their lives in attacks related to Baloch separatists and recent sectarian suicide bombings and targeted killings in Balochistan.

Residents help an injured bus driver at a hospital in Quetta on May 29, 2015 after unidentified gunmen stormed two passenger coaches in southwest Pakistan, killing at least 19 people. — AFP

A man mourns the death of a relative outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP

Residents gather around an ambulance carrying bodies of killed bus passengers outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP

Residents gather around an ambulance carrying bodies of killed bus passengers outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP

A man mourns the death of a relative outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP

A man carries his injured child as they arrive at a hospital in Quetta. — AFP

Relatives of Pakistani passengers gather outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP

Relatives of Pakistani passengers gather outside the hospital in Quetta. — AFP