22 people were shot dead from vehicles in Pakistan

A group of gunmen in Pakistan's Balochistan province killed at least 22 people by pulling people out of their vehicles and shooting them one by one, government officials said.

The gunmen carried out the attack in the Musakhail district of the province today on Monday at dawn local time. They made people get out of the car, checked their identity and other documents and shot them dead selectively.

Najibullah Kakar, a senior official of Musakhail district, said, 'The militants killed at least 22 people by stopping several buses, trucks and vans on the highway connecting Balochistan with Punjab. Five others were injured.'

Kakar said, '30 to 40 militants took part in this attack. They tested a total of 22 vehicles. Militants searched vehicles mainly from and to Punjab and selectively shot people from Punjab.'

Among the dead, 19 are from Punjab and three from Balochistan. Most of the inhabitants of Punjab were labourers.

Another senior official of the district, Hamid Zehri, confirmed the death toll.

Zehri said, "It is very likely that Baloch Liberation Army militants are behind this murder."

The most active separatist armed group in the region is the Baloch Liberation Army. Balochistan, the largest state of Pakistan, is also the poorest state in the country.

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