News
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Punjabis targeted in Turbat, 18 shot dead* Victims include 14 from Punjab
* Baloch Liberation Tigers accepts responsibility
* Prime minister, Balochistan chief minister condemn killings
By Mohammad Zafar
QUETTA: At least 18 people were shot dead and two others were injured when unidentified armed men opened fire on them on Friday.
They were all from northern parts of Pakistan and were dropped in Dasht area, mainly Shooli Jam Bazaar, by a passenger bus from Karachi. The Iranian border is about 20 kilometres from the spot where the incident took place.
They were waiting for a pick up to cross the international border through a difficult and illegal route to reach Iran for better economic prospects, sources said.
According to a Levies official, Muhammad Saleem, the victims were boarding a pick-up when armed men opened fire on them. However, the other officials claimed they were waiting for the ride when four armed men reached the spot on motorcycles and opened fire on them, killing 18 people on the spot. The victims included 14 from Punjab.
Levies officials rushed to the spot and took the bodies to Turbat for legal formalities, then dispatched them to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local officials reached by telephone told this scribe. The incident took place at 1pm and it was confirmed by the Levies officials late in the night. There were no comments from the district administration and they kept silence on the incident.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants, all from northern areas of Pakistan use Karachi-Makran route to reach Iran daily, while the Iranian border security forces have tightened the borders, disallowing movement of goods, services and people for security reasons.
The human traffickers use difficult terrains to dodge Iranian border guards, and Pakistani security officials are suspected to be in league with the smugglers.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has strongly condemned the killing of innocent people, vowing the cowardly act would not weaken the resolve of the government and the people to defeat the forces of evils. According to a late-night report, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani strongly condemned the target killing in Dasht.
Baloch Liberation Tigers (BLT) Spokesman Meeran Baloch has claimed the group carried out the killings and said that identity cards of the victims were checked before they were killed.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk