According to Dera Ghazi Khan Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmed, the bodies were received by the civil and military officials and sent to their respective hometowns.
He stated that the victims belonged to Lahore, Gujrat, Khanewal, Gujranwala, Lodhran, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Muzaffargarh.
The administration revealed that brothers Jabar and Usman, residents of Dunyapur tehsil of Lodhran, were traveling from Balochistan to attend their father’s funeral. They were taken off the bus in front of their women and children and shot dead.
The other victims have been identified as Muhammad Irfan from D.G. Khan, Sabir from Gujranwala, Muhammad Asif from Muzaffargarh, Ghulam Saeed from Khanewal, Muhammad Junaid from Lahore, Muhammad Bilal from Attock and Bilawal from Gujrat.
Sabir, who was employed at a food center, had been working there for 15 years and was the sole breadwinner for his family. He had four children, with the eldest being 14 years old. Sabir was a resident of Wahndo area of Gujranwala.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Front, affiliated with Fitna-ul-Hindustan, claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesperson said the group blocked the road between Musakhel–Mukhtar and Khajuri, and executed the nine abducted passengers.
PRESIDENT STRONGLY CONDEMNS KILLING
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the killing of bus passengers in Balochistan, reiterating the nation’s resolve to purge the country of Fitnat-ul-Hindustan and its facilitators.
The president, in a statement, said that the terrorists took the innocent citizens off a bus and brutally murdered them.
“This barbarity is a heinous conspiracy by Fitnat-ul-Hindustan to spill blood in Pakistan. They want to create chaos and unrest in Pakistan. We will purge our land of Fitnat-ul-Hindustan’ and its facilitators at all costs,” the president resolved.
He said that the country’s struggle would continue until the scourge of terrorism is completely eradicated.
The president said that he shared the grief of the victims’ families and expressed sympathies for them
PM VOWS REVENGE
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the kidnapping and killing of bus passengers in Sardhaka area of Balochistan, vowing to avenge the blood of innocent people.
“We will deal with terrorists with full force. The blood of innocent people will be avenged,” the prime minister said in a statement issued by the PM Office.
He said that the killing of unarmed civilians was a blatant terrorism by Fitnatul Hindustan.
“With resolve, unity, and strength, we will confront the scourge of terrorism and uproot it completely,” Prime Minister Shehbaz added.
MARYAM CONDEMNS TERRORISM
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the bus and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives.
At least nine people were abducted by terrorists affiliated with Fitna-ul-Hindustan from a bus in Balochistan’s Zhob district on Thursday night and martyred after checking their identities, Dunya News reported.
