QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Gunmen shot and killed at least 22
people in southwest Pakistan on Monday, after forcing them out of vehicles
and checking their ethnicity, government officials said.

The attack happened early Monday in the district of Musakhail in impoverished
Balochistan province, where security forces are battling sectarian, ethnic
and separatist violence.

"At least 22 people were killed and 5 injured when militants stopped several
busses, trucks and vans on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan,"
Najibullah Kakar, a senior official in Musakhail, told AFP.

"Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from
Punjab were identified and shot," he added.

He said 19 Punjabis and 3 Baloch were killed, mostly Punjabi labourers.

Hameed Zehri, another senior official in the district, confirmed the death
toll to AFP.

"It seems that the BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) terrorists are behind the
incident," he said.

The Baloch Liberation Army is the most active militant separatist group in
the region.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but poorest province, despite an abundance
of untapped natural resources.