The separatist Balutchs fighters have, in the past, the responsibility of attacks in the province of southwest Balutchistan.
Nine bus passengers were killed after armed men kidnapped them in the province made in Southwest Pakistan of Balutchistan, officials said.
Passengers were taken on several buses on Thursday evening, the provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind announced on Friday.
The bus went from Balutchistan to the central region of Punjab. Travelers have been believed to have been targeted due to their Punjabi ethnic group, officials said.
The bodies of the victims, riddled with bullet injuries, were found in the mountains overnight, said another government official, Naveed Alam.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohin Naqvi confirmed the incident and firmly condemned the murders. “The blood of the innocent people will be avenged. The murder of innocent citizens is an open act of terrorism by terrorists sponsored by India,” said Sharif.
There was no immediate reaction from India to its declaration. No one has yet claimed the responsibility of the attack.
The Liberation Army of Balutchistan (Bla), the Balutchs separatist fighters, in the past involved in such incidents, killing passengers after having identified them as coming from the eastern province of Punjab.
The BL is the strongest of a number of groups involved in a rebellion, which for years have operated for years in the region, the border of Afghanistan and Iran, a region rich in minerals.
Ethnic Balutch fighters blame the authorities in Pakistan to have stolen their regional resources to finance spending in the Punjab province.
