RAWALPINDI : Dec 3 : At least 9 were martyred and 25 other injured as a result of an indiscriminate firing by terrorists on a private company K-2 Movers passenger bus coming to Islamabad in Chilas city of Gilgit-Baltistan province, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Apart from registering a First Information Report (FIR) of the attack on the bus, 6 suspects have been arrested. On Saturday evening, terrorists targeted a passenger bus from the mountains, resulting in the death of 2 soldiers. At least 9 people were martyred while 25 passengers were injured in the incident.
The interior minister of Gilgit-Baltistan said that due to the firing, the bus driver stepped on the accelerator, due to which the bus collided with the cargo truck.
The hit truck also caught fire and its driver also died. The bus departed from Gahkach in the pass which was targeted in the cowardly attack and due to the firing, the bus collided with an oncoming truck.
The passengers in the bus belong to different regions of Pakistan, these passengers belonged to Kohistan, Peshawar, Ghaz, Chalas, Rondo, Skardu, Mansehra, Swabi while one to two passengers also belonged to Sindh province. DC Arif Ahmed said that two soldiers of Pakistan Army were also martyred in this cowardly operation while an official of Special Protection Unit was also injured.
A case has been registered against the terrorists on behalf of SHO Diamar Azmat Shah. Six suspects have been detained in two police stations.
All entry and exit routes of Gilgit-Baltistan have been closed and security is on high alert. Due to the closure of the Karakoram highway, hundreds of passengers going to Gilgit-Baltistan are stranded in Besham, Kohistan and other areas. Mohammad Didar, the owner of a hotel in Besham, said that free accommodation was provided to the stranded passengers, including women and children.
Apart from this, Chilas Assistant Commissioner Sadaqat Ali said that the funeral prayers of the deceased were performed in which the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Haji Gulbar Khan and senior military officials participated, after which the bodies were sent to their native areas by Rescue 1122.
Earlier, Gilgit-Baltistan Home Minister Shams Lone visited the injured in Chilas Hospital and directed the medical staff to provide the best medical assistance. Protests were also held in Chilas and Hunza against the incident, the protesters demanded immediate action and arrest of the accused. It should be noted that there have been incidents of firing by unknown persons and terrorists on passenger buses across Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan.
In March 2021, unknown armed persons fired on a passenger van in the Naltar valley of Gilgit-Baltistan. 6 people were killed and 7 were injured. Earlier on September 28, 2019, at least 6 people were killed and 6 injured as a result of indiscriminate firing by unknown persons on a passenger bus in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The most horrific incident in this regard took place in April 2019 when armed men shot and killed 14 passengers from buses near the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan province.
Earlier in November 2012, after unknown armed terrorists opened fire on a passenger van in Khuzdar district of Balochistan, a fire broke out in the van, in which 18 people were killed. A similar horrific incident like Kohistan took place in 2012 when gunmen in Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opened fire on a wagon going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and killed eighteen people. The wagon was stopped and the passengers in it were taken out and shot were fired and the attackers also checked the identity cards of the passengers before firing.