hazara-people-reut-670
A man is comforted by his relative after he arrived at the local hospital in Quetta to find a family member shot dead, September 20, 2011. — Photo by Reuters/File

PESHAWAR: Gunmen dragged 20 Shia Muslim travelers off a bus and killed them at point blank range in northern Pakistan on Thursday, the third such incident in six months, officials said.

The attack happened in the northwestern district of Mansehra as the bus was travelling between Rawalpindi and the mainly Shia northern city of Gilgit.

Officials said it was ambushed in the hills of Babusar Top, around 100 miles north of the capital Islamabad, although they differed over details of the incident.

“Ten to 12 people wearing army uniform stopped the bus and forced some people off the bus,” said Khalid Omarzai, administration chief in Mansehra.

“After checking their papers, they opened fire and at least 20 people are reported to have been killed. This is initial information and the final toll may go up. They are all Shias,” he said.

Local police official Shafiq Gul told AFP that the gunmen were masked, but said the victims were pulled from three separate vehicles in the district, which neighbours the Swat valley, a former Taliban stronghold.

“They stopped three vehicles, searched them and picked up people in three batches of five, six and nine and shot them dead. They were all Shias,” he said.

Mansehra police chief Sher Akbar Khan put the toll at 19, saying the attackers had worn military commando uniforms when they opened fire at around 6.00 am.

“They intercepted three buses, took people out and checked their ID cards and later sprayed bullets at them,” Khan said.

Sectarian violence linked to Gilgit, a popular tourist destination for wealthy Pakistanis and expatriates who live in the country, has increased in recent months.

It is the capital of Pakistan’s far northern Gilgit-Baltistan region and is popular with mountaineers as a gateway to the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges.

Angry mobs burnt tyres and blocked roads in some parts of the city to protest against the killings as extra police patrolled deserted streets and markets closed, said an AFP reporter in Gilgit.

The chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah, called an emergency meeting of top officials and ordered them to step up security and demanded the immediate arrest of the killers, a spokesman said.

The road from Babusar to Gilgit has been closed indefinitely, the local government added.

On February 28, gunmen hauled 18 Shia Muslim men off buses travelling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit in the northern district of Kohistan, shooting them dead.

On April 3, a mob dragged nine Shia Muslims from buses and also shot them dead in the town of Chilas, about 60 miles south of Gilgit.

Human rights groups have heavily criticised Pakistan for failing to crack down on sectarian violence.

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-smuggling drive
Updated 04 Oct, 2023

Anti-smuggling drive

Smuggling is eating into the economy, weakening it and imposing enormous costs on the manufacturing industry, jobs and public well-being.
Deadly trade
Updated 04 Oct, 2023

Deadly trade

Not only is the physical well-being of individuals at risk, the ethical fibre of our medical community is also threatened.
Caucasus conflict
04 Oct, 2023

Caucasus conflict

AFTER more than three decades of stalemate, the bloody conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh may be headed for a conclusion....
Relying on debt
Updated 03 Oct, 2023

Relying on debt

Sadly, the ruling military and civil elite haven’t grasped the seriousness of the economic crises.
Palestine abandoned
03 Oct, 2023

Palestine abandoned

IT appears to be only a matter of time before a normalisation deal is announced between Saudi Arabia and Israel....
Killjoys in Swat
03 Oct, 2023

Killjoys in Swat

IN yet another blow to women’s rights in Pakistan, a group of young, spirited girls seeking to participate in a...