Pakistan: Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department files FIR in Noshki attack

Apr 16, 2024

Quetta [Pakistan], April 16 : Balochistan Police's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has filed the FIR regarding the Noshki attack, in which nine men from Punjab were fatally shot after being forced off a bus, Dawn reported.
FIR was registered against unknown gunmen on the complaint of Noshki police station SHO Asadullah Mengal.
According to Dawn, the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and other relevant laws have been included in the FIR.
Additionally, CTD officials have initiated an investigation into the attack.
The nine men, hailing from Punjab, were travelling on a bus from Quetta to Taftan on the Pakistan-Iran border, as per Dawn.
The attackers, who had set up a cordon on the N-40 Quetta-Noshki Highway, intercepted the coach and looted the belongings of passengers, including cash and mobile phones.
After checking the identity cards of the passengers, the gunmen separated the nine passengers and took them away. Their bullet-riddled bodies were later dumped under a bridge in a hilly area of Noshki.
A spokesperson for the banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killings. They were on a journey to reach Europe for a better life.
Recently, Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti, headed a high-level meeting with the law and order officials of Balochistan on April 14 to revise and improve the security situation in the province, according to Dawn.
Senior civil and military officers, including IG Hollis Abdul Khaliq Sheikh, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan, ACS Interior Zahid Saleem had attended the meeting.
In the meeting, Bugti stated, "The situation after the Nushki tragedy was reviewed in the meeting. J Rukhshan Division gave a briefing in the meeting regarding the Nushki tragedy, the Nushki incident was condemned in strong words.
"It was decided to revise the security plan to prevent such incidents in the future. This war against terrorism is not only for the security forces, armed forces, bureaucracy, judiciary, media all have to fight this war of the state against terrorism will be fought with political responsibility and a common plan of action," he added.
Bugti also instructed to ensure that compensation was given to the heirs of those killed within seven days. Further, he also stated that the government would also erect security checkpoints for the security of passengers.