GHOTKI (MNN); At least 19 male passengers were abducted after armed suspects attacked a passenger bus travelling from Sindh’s Sadiqabad to Quetta in Balochistan on Monday night. The incident occurred near Murid Shahk on the Gudu-Kashmore Road in the Ghotki area, police said, as the criminals opened fire and forced the vehicle to stop.
According to initial reports, the bus was carrying about 25 people when the attackers struck. The assailants released all female passengers and only took the male travellers with them, raising serious concerns about targeted violence and security along the route.
Police and Rangers units were dispatched to the scene shortly after the attack, and a search operation is ongoing to track down the abductors. Authorities confirmed that gunshots were fired during the assault, shattering the bus windows and creating panic among the passengers.
No group has publicly claimed responsibility for the abduction so far, and details about the motives behind the attack remain unclear. Security officials have said they are exploring all possible leads, including criminal and militant involvement.
The Sindh and Balochistan governments have condemned the incident, urging calm while promising swift action to recover the kidnapped men and bring the perpetrators to justice. This event follows a series of attacks on passenger transport in the region, including earlier abductions and killings of travellers on highways connecting Balochistan with other provinces.
Families of the missing passengers have appealed to authorities for urgent rescue efforts, while local political leaders called for enhanced security measures to protect civilians travelling across provincial borders.
