Militants kill 20 abducted passengers in Balochistan's Mastung
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QUETTA: At least 20 people were killed and several injured Friday night when unknown militants opened fire at kidnapped passengers in Mastung area of Balochistan, DawnNews reported.
Earlier in the evening, suspected militants had abducted two passenger buses en route Karachi from Pishin.
Levies official Sanaullah, while talking to DawnNews, said miscreants stopped two passengers coaches at Khad Kucha area of Mastung. He said the passengers were taken out from the coaches after which armed men opened fire at them.
In a statement, Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti confirmed that 20 passengers had been killed by the militants.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the murders.
Soon after reports of abduction emerged, police and Frontier Corps officials rushed to the area and there were reports of heavy exchange of fire between security forces and the kidnappers, DawnNews reported.
The actual number of abducted passengers has not been confirmed yet. But sources estimate there were more than 20 passengers travelling in the two coaches.
The exchange of fire between security forces and militants is ongoing and the death toll from the tragedy is expected to rise, said officials.
Meanwhile, DCO Mastung claimed that 15 to 20 militants had abducted around 35 passengers.
Five passengers were released by militants, the Levies official said.
Traffic remains suspended on the Quetta-Karachi highway as transporters protest against the incident.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in Mastung. He extended condolences to the bereaved families and directed concerned authorities to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime at the earliest.
Chief minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti left for Mastung to monitor the joint operation of LEAs against kidnappers.
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On DawnNews
Comments (54) Closed
May 29, 2015 11:41pm
NAP????????????????????????????
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May 29, 2015 11:43pm
I have started to wonder if humans were such barbarians from beginning, or is it that because of media we get to know more about humans?
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May 29, 2015 11:44pm
And it continues!!!
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May 29, 2015 11:45pm
what is the religion of these terrorists? why they want to kill everyone??
will our government do something to stop these tyrants??
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May 29, 2015 11:51pm
Very very sad incident indeed. Lets see if the so called progressives' hero Mama Qadeer condemns this act or remains silent!
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May 29, 2015 11:51pm
At the end of this news it is written, "Nawaz sought a report into the incident and directed authorities to take every possible step to rescue those abducted." This statement is not even worth of writing because now the authorities are retrieving dead bodies of these poor Pakistanis who have been killed for none of their faults. The authorities should have ensured the safe journey of these people. This is the same spot whereat in past also such incidents have taken place which should have prompted the authorities concerned to secure this spot to preclude the recurrence of such incidents. Now the Prime Minister should send these authorities home hence forthwith.
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May 29, 2015 11:52pm
Isn't it a high time to launch a decisive operation in urban areas of the country to curb the menace of terrorism?
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May 29, 2015 11:54pm
Unbelievable...another massacre of innocents! What good is this government if they can't protect their citizens?
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May 29, 2015 11:56pm
Each and everyone of these terrorists should be caught and dealt with appropriately.
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May 29, 2015 11:57pm
Simply brutal, we are looking for the reaction human rights champions who oppose action of law enforcement agencies against these Terrorists in Balochistan.
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May 29, 2015 11:58pm
Miscreants should be on gallows, Rip topoor passengers/fellows who lost their precious lives in such tragic incodent.
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May 30, 2015 12:00am
Brutal and inhumane.
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May 30, 2015 12:00am
Again the government would release statement that RAW and its agents in Pakistan are behind this event. Te question is how come these agents enter in Pakistan and what our agencies are doing to protect our borders. We spend huge amount of budget to foster these agencies but in return what we get.
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May 30, 2015 12:00am
So sad. A condemnable act. Enemies of the state, humanity and Pakistanis active again.
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May 30, 2015 12:02am
Time to deal with them the way we dealing with talibans.
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May 30, 2015 12:07am
What is Balochistan government doing, where are Human right people. Get them and their supporters should be punished nothing less.
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May 30, 2015 12:11am
NS government should forget old friendships and should take action against terrorists. So many people have been killed in this area and it is also a failure of security forces.
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May 30, 2015 12:14am
very sad
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May 30, 2015 12:16am
pls learn fro Iranian and uae and KSA security agencies! U r almost complete failure!
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May 30, 2015 12:19am
RIP
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May 30, 2015 12:21am
The attack on buses are increasing, high profile being that on Ismailis. Security personal most importantly Police and Levies must step their efforts.
RIP.
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May 30, 2015 12:22am
Sad....
This has become a daily affair in Pakistan
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May 30, 2015 12:28am
the killings of innocent civilians needs to stop...
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May 30, 2015 12:30am
Bad governance bring hell on innocent people. Levies failed, FC failed, intelligence failed, Balochistan Government failed and so does Government of Pakistan to protect lives of innocent Pakistanis. Change is inevitable in Pakistan.
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May 30, 2015 12:39am
They will try and do everything it takes to jeopardize the Pak China Economic Corridor. It's only a matter of time that this will situation will also be cleaned up by our Armed Forces.
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May 30, 2015 12:42am
We need Mi35 to tackle terrorism in this province. An Mi35 gunship helicopter can carry eight troopers with it while defending itself from variety of hostile fire and can inflict heavy damage in retaliatory strike.
We need to crush this terrorism with harsh brute force as we have been done with the TTP in KPK.
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May 30, 2015 01:00am
cowards!
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May 30, 2015 01:08am
why media hiding something? These killers are targeting some specific ethnic group and not every one. In general Baluch people are very sincere, kindhearted and helpful. I have some experience when I was visiting Quetta in 1998-2000 for my engineering project. However time is changed. Even then I am sure 200% that foreign hand can not be ruled out.
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May 30, 2015 01:33am
Remove gun licencing requirements. Terrorists already don't care about rules and have guns. Let every citizen carry guns. This will raise the costs of terrorists trying to mess with a bus full of people. It's not easy to shoot someone who's also carrying a gun.
For those who would object to normal people killing each other over petty disputes. It is a valid objection. We have no restrictions on knives, and how many stabbings of normal people do we hear about? Keep in mind there is always going to be some damage and violence but not the massacre being perpetrated by terrorists. Let the people become responsible for their own and family's protection.
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May 30, 2015 01:35am
Seriously what is going on? Incident happens, PM expresses grief, demands concerned authorities to take strict action. End of story
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May 30, 2015 01:49am
These sensitive routes should be properly secured. Every month such incidents happen, why can't these buses be escorted by guards? Enroll more security personnel and secure these tracks, for God's sake.
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May 30, 2015 01:56am
Once these terrorist cowards are located, please forward their GPS coordinates to the nearest drone.
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May 30, 2015 02:02am
Mr Nawaz Sharif its good to make economic corridors and stuff but fighting terrorism should be your number one priority. Without rule of law, no country can prosper. Keep an eye on our enemies especially some of our neighbors
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May 30, 2015 02:04am
This is the result of the half hearted implementation of the National Action Plan.
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May 30, 2015 02:05am
Man has become so barbaric!!!
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May 30, 2015 02:07am
These foreign funded terrorists are doing the bidding of those who have set up a special cell to try and disrupt the China- Pak economic corridor. They kill innocents for their aims. But they will fail.
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May 30, 2015 02:14am
There should be check posts along the way and drone spies, everytime a bus leaves. They should fill a bus with commandos in civvies, then wait to be stopped by these foreign funded terrorists. Imagine the surprise they get, when the Commandos go into action.
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May 30, 2015 02:35am
Killed and robbed!
Passengers en route to Karachi are likely to have money with them.
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May 30, 2015 02:47am
@Hindutavi Rakshas ..... Miscreants is too soft a term for them.
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May 30, 2015 03:36am
How many people need to be killed before these addicted murderers are satisfied? Why don't they kill each other to reach their Paradise asap? This is not a sustainable way of living.
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May 30, 2015 03:44am
looks like some tribal leader is not happy with his share of the bribe!
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May 30, 2015 04:06am
Just take a close look at these people ......... what else i can say
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May 30, 2015 04:18am
Hit them! they are small and they are untrained! Time to hit them! if not it will be change into monster!
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May 30, 2015 04:24am
what these killer wants .
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May 30, 2015 04:44am
There are those who are mad at CPEC and Chinese investment in Pakistan and will do everything in their power to derail it. They want to see Pakistan ruined and isolated. We all know who they are. We all know who recently have made threatening statements towards Pakistan. Question is how strong Pakistanis will be in face of this threat. Stay united and strong and nothing will be able to harm Pakistan.
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May 30, 2015 05:01am
Total break down of law and order in Baluchistan. Less than few thousand terrorist have kidnapped the entire democratic govt. May be it is time to try a non-democratic regime with iron fist.
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May 30, 2015 05:10am
Sir: First of all, as a human being I mourn the death of my 20 fellow brothers in Balochistan in an act of mindless slaughter. Next, the Army Chief keeps on repeating that the army and security forces are "fully prepared" to meet any external and internal threats. This has become a joke now.
Rolland
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May 30, 2015 06:09am
Why is the identity of victims being kept secret?? Is this a dictatorship or what??
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May 30, 2015 06:16am
Did prime minister take a serious note of it, yet? If he does not that will be serious!
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May 30, 2015 06:20am
Who is supporting them with such sufistcated weapons?
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May 30, 2015 06:24am
Very sad. RIP the dead passengers. Government should release funds for people affected by terrorism.
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May 30, 2015 07:54am
@Zak : Great strategist! Are you on some kind of medication.
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May 30, 2015 07:57am
The complete failure of public departments due to corrupt political and military regimes; the corruption and recommendation culture at public offices; the poor economy; the extreme burden of population; and above all the injustice has turned Pakistanis to extremists. All these factors let Pakistanis do terrorism at their own or let them play in the hands of others.
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May 30, 2015 07:12pm
when such killing would stopped
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