- Terrorists lying in ambush stop and attack the Quetta-bound bus, coming from Karachi, from both sides: Rind
- President, PM and Interior Minister strongly condemn killing of civilians, reaffirming determination to eliminate terrorism from the country
- The incident comes week after nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed
QUETTA: Three passengers were killed and seven others were injured when a Quetta-bound passenger bus was attacked by the terrorists of “Finta al-Hindustan” in Balochistan’s Kalat, according to the security sources and the provincial government spokesperson.
In a statement Shahid Rind, the Spokesperson to the Balochistan government, confirmed that three passengers were martyred and seven were injured when a shooting occurred on a passenger coach coming from Karachi to Quetta in Kalat’s Nemargh area.
The incident comes a week after at least nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men in the Sur-Dakai area, situated on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts.
The government had said that Fitna al-Hindustan had carried out attacks at three different places — Kakat, Mastung and Sur-Dakai.
The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), a banned outfit, later claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman for the group said it had killed the nine individuals after blocking the highway between Musakhail-Makhtar and Khajuri.
Rind said the injured were being moved to the Kalat District Headquarters Hospital for treatment, adding that an emergency had been imposed at the facility.
قلات کے علاقے نمرغ میں کراچی سے کوئٹہ آنے والی مسافر کوچ پر فائرنگ کا افسوسناک واقعہ رونما ہوا ہے، ترجمان حکومت بلوچستان شاہد رند۔
ترجمان حکومت بلوچستان نے کہا کہ سیکیورٹی ادارے، ضلعی انتظامیہ اور ریسکیو ٹیمیں فوری طور پر جائے وقوعہ پر پہنچ چکی ہیں۔ زخمیوں کو ڈی ایچ کیو ہسپتال…
— Govt. of Balochistan (@dpr_gob) July 16, 2025
Meanwhile, the Edhi Foundation rescue service put the number of injured at 10, saying they were taken to Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment.
“Security agencies, district administration, and rescue teams have immediately reached the scene. Security forces have cordoned off the area, and a search operation is underway. Security forces are pursuing the attackers,” Rind said.
He said Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had taken notice of the incident and sought a report from police and law enforcement agencies.
“Based on initial information, terrorists lying in ambush, stopped the bus and then attacked it,” Rind informed, adding that the number of terrorists involved in the attack could not be confirmed, but they (terrorists) carried out the attack from both sides of the road.
State broadcaster PTV also posted a video of a passenger who said the terrorists had indiscriminately fired at the bus.
قلات بس حادثہ میں بچ جانے والے مسافروں کے تاثرات
کراچی سے کوئٹہ جانے والی مسافر بس پر فتنہ الہندوستان کے دہشتگردوں کا حملہ
قلات کے قریب ہونے والے بس حملے میں 3 مسافر شہید ہو گئے
بس میں موجود بچ جانے والے مسافروں کے مطابق؛
’’دہشتگردوں نے بس پر اندھا دھند فائرنگ کی‘‘بس میں… pic.twitter.com/ujs2xhZ17B
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) July 16, 2025
It also shared a statement from security sources that said: “Ever since the security forces started successful operations against the terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan and the FC (Frontier Corps) sealed the border, cutting off their smuggling income, these cowardly terrorists, in a state of frustration, are targeting the lives of innocent people.
“One of the two reasons for terrorist attacks on passenger buses on highways is that they are soft targets. The second reason is that by carrying out such incidents, they want to divert the army and FC from the border and operation areas to these locations so that the terrorists can operate more easily in the border and operation areas.”
President, PM and Interior Minister strongly condemn killing of civilians in Kalat
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed their deep sorrow over the killing of innocent civilians in Balochistan’s Kalat district, who were attacked by the Indian-proxy terrorist group “Fitna al-Hindustan” on a Quetta-bound passenger bus traveling from Karachi.
The president strongly condemned the incident and said that the act of targeting innocent civilians was highly condemnable and barbaric, adding that terrorists wanted to disrupt peace and stability in the province as they were the enemies of humanity.
The president and the prime minister expressed their condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for their patience and strength.
The president and the prime minister also directed for immediate medical assistance to the injured.
“The terrorists who harm the lives and property of innocent and unarmed civilians will have to pay a very heavy price,” PM Office Media Wing, in a press release, quoted the prime minister as saying.
The president and the prime minister reaffirmed that the government and security forces were fully determined to eliminate terrorism from the country.
“With the support of the nation, we will eradicate the cancer of terrorism from the country,” President Secretariat Press Wing, in a press release, quoted the president as saying.
صدرِ مملکت آصف علی زرداری کی قلات، بلوچستان میں مسافر بس پر بزدلانہ دہشتگرد حملے کی شدید مذمت
صدر مملکت کا افسوسناک واقعے میں قیمتی جانی نقصان پر گہرے دُکھ اور افسوس کا اظہار
بے گناہ عام شہریوں کو نشانہ بنانا انتہائی سفاکانہ اور قابل مذمت فعل ہے، صدر مملکت
دہشتگرد امن و…
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) July 16, 2025
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the shooting in Kalat in a statement from his office, extending his condolences and assailing Fitna al-Hindustan—a term the government uses for terrorist organizations in Balochistan—for targeting civilians.
“The targeting of innocent passengers by Fitna al-Hindustan terrorists is a very cowardly act,” he was quoted as saying. “These terrorists are hatching a heinous conspiracy to sabotage peace by targeting soft targets. With the support of the nation, we will foil these conspiracies by Indian-sponsored terrorists.”
“The attack on the passenger coach in Qalat is a cowardly and despicable act of terrorism. The loss of precious lives is an irreparable tragedy. The terrorist organisations of Fitna al-Hindustan have previously carried out attacks based on identity, but now they are indiscriminately targeting civilians, which clearly shows that this war is against every ordinary Pakistani, and we will defeat it at all costs!” CM Bugti said in a post on X.
قلات میں مسافر کوچ پر حملہ ایک بزدلانہ اور قابلِ نفرت دہشتگردی ہے۔ قیمتی جانوں کا ضیاع ناقابلِ تلافی نقصان ہے۔ فتنہ الہند کی دہشتگرد تنظیمیں پہلے شناخت کی بنیاد پر حملوں کا تاثر دیتی رہیں، اب اندھا دھند شہریوں کو نشانہ بنا رہی ہیں جس سے صاف ظاہر ہوتا ہے یہ جنگ ہر عام پاکستانی کے…
— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) July 16, 2025
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said that “terrorists of the Indian conspiracy are targeting peace and stability.”
اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی سردار ایاز صادق کی قلات کے قریب بس پر دہشتگرد حملے کی شدید مذمت
اسپیکر سردار ایاز صادق کا حملے کے نتیجے میں بے گناہ مسافروں کے جانی نقصان پر گہرے دکھ اور افسوس کا اظہار۔
اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی کا شہداء کے لواحقین سے دلی ہمدردی و تعزیت کا اظہار
اسپیکر قومی…
— National Assembly 🇵🇰 (@NAofPakistan) July 16, 2025
He said the cowardly attack was the “worst example of enmity against humanity”. “We will foil every conspiracy sponsored by India,” he said.
Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani termed terrorists the “murderers of all humanity”.
“Terrorists can never succeed in their nefarious objectives. The entire nation is united against terrorism.”
چیئرمین سینٹ سید یوسف رضا گیلانی کی قلات کے قریب مسافر بس پر دہشتگرد حملے کی شدید مذمت۔
سید یوسف رضا گیلانی کا حملے کے نتیجے میں بے گناہ مسافروں کے جانی نقصان پر گہرے دکھ اور افسوس کا اظہار۔
چیئرمین سینٹ کا شہداء کے لواحقین سے دلی ہمدردی و تعزیت کا اظہار۔
سید یوسف رضا…
— ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀɪʀᴍᴀɴ ꜱᴇɴᴀᴛᴇ, ᴘᴀᴋɪꜱᴛᴀɴ (@OfficeSenate) July 16, 2025
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also condemned the incident.
“Targeting innocent passengers is a very barbaric act. Terrorists are a plague on the nation’s soil,” he said, adding that it was necessary to eliminate such elements for the country’s prosperity.
PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said targeting innocent and defenseless civilians was a “heinous act.”
*نائب صدر پیپلزپارٹی سینیٹر شیری رحمان کی قلات میں مسافر کوچ پر بزدلانہ حملے کی شدید الفاظ میں مذمت*
معصوم اور بے گناہ شہریوں کو نشانہ بنانا گھناؤنا فعل ہے ،حملے میں تین افراد کے جاں بحق ہونے پر افسوس ہے، شیری رحمان
*دوبارہ سر اٹھاتی دہشتگردی کی اس لہر کو جڑ سے اکھاڑ پھینکنے…
— Pakistan Peoples Party – PPP (@PPP_Org) July 16, 2025
“The state must take decisive and robust action against terrorists. The entire nation and security institutions are united in the fight against terrorism … The government must bring terrorists and their facilitators to justice and deliver exemplary punishment,” she said.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also condemned the incident and expressed sorrow over the killing of innocent passengers.
Terrorist attacks on civilians in Balochistan in current year
In May this year, the government designated all terrorist organizations in Balochistan as Fitna-Al-Hindustan.
In March, five people were killed by armed men who blocked the highway in the Kalmat area of Gwadar district, while three long-body trailers carrying urea from Gwadar port were set on fire in the Tajaban area.
In February, seven Punjab-bound passengers were offloaded from a bus and shot dead in Barkhan district. The incident came days after 12 were killed in a blast targeting a bus carrying coal miners in Harnai.
Balochistan has witnessed a spate of attacks targeting those hailing from Punjab. In two separate incidents in April 2024, nine people were killed after being forced off a bus near Noshki, while two laborers from Punjab were shot in Kech.
In May last year, seven barbers from Punjab were shot dead near Gwadar, while August saw 23 travelers offloaded from trucks and buses and shot in the Musakhail district.
The Musakhail incident was part of a flare-up of violence, where dozens of militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army—a separatist outfit—launched numerous attacks across Balochistan, targeting security personnel as well as civilians.
