A  man comforts a mourner, following the killing of Shia Muslims, at a hospital in Ghari Hbibullah in the northwestern district of Mansehra on August 16, 2012.   — Photo by AFP

UNITED NATIONS: UN leader Ban Ki-moon was “appalled”by the sectarian killing of 20 Shia Muslims who were dragged off a bus in Pakistan on Thursday, his spokesman said.

“The secretary general expresses his outrage over such deliberate attacks on people due to their religious beliefs in Pakistan,” said a statement released by UN spokesman Martin Nesirky which strongly condemned the attack.

Terrorists ambushed four buses, pulled out the passengers and shot at least 20 of them dead in the Babusar Top area of Mansehra district on Thursday.

Before killing the passengers, the assailants had checked their identity cards and shot them because they were Shia.

“More than 50 terrorists wearing commando uniform intercepted a convoy going from Rawalpindi to Gilgit-Baltistan before 7am, hauled off passengers from four vans, identified them through their national identity cards and shot 19 of them dead,” District Coordination Officer Dr Amber Ali Khan said.

He said several CNICs had been found at the place in the mountain range where the attack had taken place.

“This attack appears to be similar to the one carried out in Harban area of Kohistan in February and almost all the victims belonged to the Shia community,” he said.

It was the third attack of its kind in six months.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

ALTHOUGH dealing with the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan is a major political, security and strategic...
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...