Details of incident
At least 22 people were killed in Musa Khel Attack August 26 2024 by gunmen in south-west Pakistan after being forced out of their vehicles, officials say. The attack happened on a highway in Baluchistan province, where there is ongoing violence related to sectarian, ethnic, and separatist issues.
The armed men checked people’s identity documents and reportedly targeted those from Punjab, shooting them before setting the vehicles on fire, according to officials. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant group, claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Musa Khel district.
In the past 24 hours, the BLA has carried out several attacks on government buildings, including police stations and security forces’ camps across the province. In Kalat, 11 people were killed, including five security personnel. Six more bodies were found in another district in Baluchistan.
Official reactions
According to Najibullah Kakar, a senior local official, around 30 to 40 militants were involved in the Musa Khel attack. “They stopped 22 vehicles,” he told the AFP news agency. “Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot.”
The BLA claimed they were targeting military personnel traveling in civilian clothes, according to Reuters. The group had warned the Baloch public to stay away from the highway, stating that their fight is against the Pakistani military.
The BLA also claimed control of all major highways across Balochistan, saying they had completely blocked them. Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, expressed “deep grief and condemnation over the terrorist attack” in a statement from his office.
conclusion
Baluchistan is Pakistan’s largest province, but it is also the least developed, despite having more resources than other provinces. The BLA and other Baloch separatists have increased attacks on Punjabis and Sind his from other parts of Pakistan who work in the region. They have also targeted foreign energy companies, accusing them of exploiting the region without sharing profits.
In a similar incident in April, nine passengers were taken off a bus in Baluchistan and shot dead after their IDs were checked. Several Western countries, including the UK and the US, have labeled the BLA as a global terrorist organization.
List of people killed by being pulled from vehicles in Musa Khel Attack area of Baluchistan
- 1 Wajid Hussain S/O Abid Hussain Muzaffargarh
- 2 M Nadeem S/O M Tasleem Khanewal
- 3 Rana M Zia UL Hassan Khan S/O M Afzal Khanewal
- 4 Abdul Ghafoor
- 5 Sink S/O Haji Ghaza Loralai
- 6 Habib Khan S/O Jamak Dukki
- 7 Mehboob Hussain S/o Sher Muhammad Layyah
- 8 Allah Bux S/O Nizam o din Layyah
- 9 Muhammad Zameer S/o Ghulam Qasim Layyah
- 10 Ghulam Murtaza S/o Ghulam Qasim Layyah
- 11 M Saqlain (Forces person )
- 12 Amir Saeed S/o Ahmad Saeed Sahiwal
- 13 M Shariyar S/o Ameer Abdullah (Forces Person) Sargodha
- 14 M Waseem S/o M Huassain Multan
- 15 M Asif S/o M Arif Multan
- 16 Khuda Bux S/o Allah Bachaya Multan
- 17 Shahbaz Khan S/o Faqeer Muhammad Vehari
- 18 Qadeer Aslam s/o M Aslam Vehari
- 19 Asif Iqbal S/o Iqbal Maseeh Lahore
- 20 Javed bux
- 21 Ghulam jillani s/o Ghulam Rasool Faisalabad
- 22 Nazeer Ahmad S/o Mahar Babla Khan Shujabad