Over 20 people were shot dead after cars, buses, and trucks were stopped by 30 to 40 armed men on the motorway between the Pakistani provinces of Baluchistan and Punjab. The attack in the Musakhail district is one of the deadliest in Baluchistan in several years, according to the authorities.
Vehicles on their way to and from Punjab were inspected, and people from Punjab were identified and shot, says a local official to AFP.
Punjabis make up the largest ethnic group in Pakistan and are generally considered to dominate the country's military and security forces.
Blew up Railway Bridge
The banned separatist group Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is fighting for increased autonomy in the province, has taken responsibility for the motorway attack. According to the movement's own statement, they only attacked military personnel.
In a separate, seemingly coordinated attack, at least ten people were killed in the Qalat district in Baluchistan, according to the authorities. Several more people were killed when extremists blew up a railway bridge in the Bolan district.
Among the dead are several police officers and soldiers, according to the military.
Suppressed with Violence
Baluchistan – Pakistan's poorest province – has long been the scene of uprisings by separatists, who claim that the Baluch people are discriminated against and exploited by the central government.
The authorities have tried to suppress the uprisings with violence instead of finding political solutions, says analyst and journalist Kiyya Baloch to AFP.
This method has led to increased retaliation from the young and has given the rebels more power, rather than weakening them.
