Pakistan gunmen kidnap and kill 14 bus passengers bound for coastal town home to China’s belt and road port

The bus was travelling on a coastal highway from the financial hub of Karachi towards Gwadar, the Arabian Sea port town where China is building a deep water port

Western Baluchistan province has long been plagued by violence and a stubborn insurgency. But no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack

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The Chinese Gwadar port in Gwadar, Pakistan. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:42pm, 18 Apr 2019Updated: 9:55pm, 18 Apr 2019

Unidentified gunmen killed 14 people in southwestern Pakistan after pulling them from several passenger buses, sifting through their identity cards and kidnapping them, a Pakistani official said on Thursday.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on the passengers who were travelling on a coastal highway from the financial hub of Karachi towards Gwadar, the Arabian Sea port town where China is building a deep water port.

Southwestern Baluchistan province has long been plagued by violence and a stubborn insurgency, with several separatist groups and Islamist militants operating in a region that boasts vast gas and mineral resources.

Security has improved considerably across much of Pakistan in recent years but Baluchistan is still plagued by attacks, a major source of concern for Pakistani and Chinese officials who fear it will disrupt plans for a transport corridor through the province as part of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”.

Baluchistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said the dead passengers had their legs and hands tied and were found close to the town of Ormara, about halfway between Karachi and Gwadar.