KARACHI / ZHOB / DERA GHAZI KHAN — July 12, 2025: The bodies of nine passengers abducted and executed by militants in Balochistan’s Sur-Dakai area on Thursday night have been returned to their families in Punjab, according to local authorities.
The victims were travelling in two Punjab-bound buses when armed men stopped the vehicles near the border of Zhob and Loralai districts. The attackers checked passengers’ identity cards and forcibly removed ten individuals — primarily those with Punjab addresses — before executing them. The banned Balochistan Liberation Front later claimed responsibility.
Seven of the nine victims have been identified, hailing from Lodhran, Gujrat, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujranwala, Attock, and Khanewal. The remaining two could not be identified due to missing documentation.
Top national leaders, including President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the killings, linking them to so-called “Fitna-al-Hindustan” — a label the government uses for India-backed terror groups operating in Balochistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti vowed strict action, promising to wipe out terrorist networks.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also denounced the violence and called for political solutions to the longstanding unrest in Balochistan.
This marks another in a series of brutal attacks in the province targeting civilians from Punjab. In recent months, similar executions have occurred in Barkhan, Kech, Gwadar, and Musakhail, pointing to an alarming trend of ethnic targeting.
