QUETTA: During an emergency joint conference here on Saturday, Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said that an All Parties Conference (APC) will be held on June 2 in the aftermath of the Mastung killings.

The APC willbe held in Quetta and all political parties of Balochistan would be invited to ensure peace in the province.

On Friday night, gunmen kidnapped about two dozen passengers from two Karachi-bound coaches and killed at least 22 of them in Khad Kocha, a mountainous area about 70km southeast of the provincial capital, in Mastung district. The gunmen reportedly injured three passengers.

"We will bring the culprits to book," said the Balochistan CM during the conference at CM Secretariat. The chief minister also said that he had spoken to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with regards to convening an All Parties Conference (APC).

Balochistan CM during the conference at CM Secretariat.—DawnNews screengrab

"We will convene an APC in the next couple of days," said Dr Baloch, when he was asked about the exact date of the APC.

During the conference, ruling parties as well as the opposition termed the Mastung carnage as a pre-planned "conspiracy" to disrupt the law and order situation of Balochistan.

Dr Malik Baloch, Leader of the Opposition in the Balochistan Assembly Maulana Wasey, Rahim Ziaratwal of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), Zamarak Achakzai of ANP and other political leaders addressed the conference.

The conference was held in the aftermath of successful negotiations with protesters who brought the bodies of the victims outside CM Secretariat.

Take a look: Relatives of Mastung victims stage sit-in as death toll rises to 22

The parties also announced a shutter-down strike on Sunday (tomorrow) across the province to express sympathy with the bereaved family members of the victims.

Protesters stage sit-in outside Balochistan CM Secretariat.— DawnNews screengrab

"Our enemies want bloodshed here," said Zamarak Achakzai, the parliamentary leader of ANP, while addressing the conference.

Political leaders also said that for the past 10 days, vulnerable people were being targeted in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan to sabotage peace in the province.

As on many recent occasions this year, Home Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti alleged that Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was involved in a series of terrorists incidents.

"The enemies of Pakistan want to destabilise the country," said Bugti.

Political leaders said that the Mastung tragedy and incidents of target killings in Quetta were a part of conspiracy against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

"Such incidents are an effort to sabotage the political consensus on CPEC," said Zamarak Achakzai.

The parties made an appeal to the masses to stay peaceful and help the government in restoring peace in the province.