KARACHI: Gunmen attacked a bus near the town of Chilas in northern Pakistan on Saturday, killing eight passengers and injuring at least 15, district and regional officials said.
Muhammad Ali Johar, a spokesman for the regional government, said militants had opened fire on the bus on Saturday evening and the wounded had been taken to a local hospital.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the motive for the shooting was not clear.
Chilas lies in the mountainous region of Gilgit Baltistan, near the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where attacks have been rising in recent years, including some claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Chilas is a popular stopping point for tourists and is also near a China-backed dam under construction.
Eight bus passengers killed by unknown gunmen in northern Pakistan
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Eight bus passengers killed by unknown gunmen in northern Pakistan
- The incident happened near Chilas which is located near a China-backed dam under construction
- Militants had opened fire on the bus on Saturday evening, though no group has claimed responsibility
Police rescue 11 abducted bus passengers after gunbattle in Pakistan’s katcha region
- The passengers were seized when gunmen intercepted a bus traveling on a key highway linking Punjab to Balochistan
- Authorities deployed armored vehicles, surveillance drones as dense fog complicated the rescue operation in the area
KARACHI: Pakistani police on Tuesday rescued 11 bus passengers who were abducted by an organized criminal gang, known locally as katcha dacoits, from near the border separating the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, officials said.
The passengers were seized on Monday night when gunmen intercepted the bus traveling on the Ghotki–Guddu–Kashmore Link Road, a strategic highway in the country’s south. The bus was en route from Sadiqabad in Punjab province to the Balochistan capital, Quetta.
The abduction occurred in the marshy area of Ghotki, a riverine territory known as the katcha region along the Indus River, long regarded as a sanctuary for heavily armed criminal gangs.
“After a police encounter with the bandits, 11 abducted passengers have been recovered,” Ghotki district police chief Anwar Khetran told media.
He added an exchange of fire erupted near Sonmiani village during the large-scale police operation. Two of the rescued passengers sustained injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
It was not known how many passengers were aboard the bus when dacoits abducted it.
Authorities said a heavy police contingent using armored vehicles and surveillance drones was deployed and that the operation would continue until all perpetrators were captured or killed. However, Khetran noted that dense fog was hampering visibility.
The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile abductions targeting travelers in the difficult-to-govern katcha areas of Upper Sindh, particularly in the Ghotki, Kashmore and Shikarpur districts.
Despite periodic crackdowns involving police and paramilitary forces, criminal gangs operating in the rugged terrain have persisted, posing a continuing challenge to law and order.
