At least nine passengers were abducted and shot dead after gunmen intercepted a bus travelling from Quetta to Lahore, officials in Balochistan confirmed on Friday.

Axar.az informs, citing Geo, the incident took place near Zhob, a town in northern Balochistan, where armed assailants stopped the bus, removed passengers, and selectively identified and executed nine individuals.

Assistant Commissioner Zhob, Naveed Alam, said the attackers opened fire on the abducted passengers after taking them away from the vehicles.

The bodies of the deceased have been shifted to the Rekhni hospital in the Barkhan district of Balochistan, he said.

A spokesperson for the provincial government strongly condemned the attack, calling it an act of terrorism.

“The terrorists pulled passengers off the bus, identified them, and then mercilessly killed nine innocent Pakistanis,” the spokesperson, Shahid Rind, stated.

The murder of defenceless civilians is a glaring example of the barbarity of the Fitna al-Hindustan, said the official.

Security forces responded swiftly to the reports of the abduction, he said.

The assailants, he said, fled under cover of darkness. However, the operation to track them down continues, with a search underway in the surrounding region.

Meanwhile, DG Khan Commissioner Ashfaq Ahmad has said that five ambulances have been dispatched to Balochistan to transport the bodies of slain passengers back to Punjab.

The slain passengers will be laid to rest in their respective native towns, he said.