UNITED NATIONS, Dec 31: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday he was “appalled by the escalating terrorist violence in Pakistan,” after 20 Shia pilgrims died in a car bomb and 21 kidnapped militiamen were killed.

Mr Ban “condemns in particular the continued violent targeting of religious minorities,” according to a statement from his spokesman, Martin Nesirky.

He also strongly condemned the killing of 22 members of a government-backed tribal police force kidnapped last week near Peshawar.

“These cruel acts of violence cannot be justified by any cause or grievance,” the statement emphasised, saying the perpetrators “should be brought to justice”.

Mr Ban assured the government and Pakistani people of “the solidarity of the United Nations” as well as of “its continued support for their efforts to defend their country’s institutions and freedoms in the face of the scourge of terrorism”.

A car bomb in Mastung hit a convoy of three buses carrying about 180 Shia pilgrims to Iran, killing 20 them and wounding 25 others.

It was one of the deadliest attacks this year against Shia people, who make up about 20 per cent of the population of Pakistan.

In the northwest, security forces were hunting the killers of 22 security personnel whose bodies were discovered not far from two posts outside Peshawar where they had been kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban.

The Taliban attacked the posts of Levies Force in Hasankhel and Jina Kor areas of Frontier Region Peshawar on Thursday, killed two personnel, destroyed the posts and took away 23 personnel.

Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan claimed responsibility for the attacks. “We killed all the kidnapped men after a council of senior clerics gave a verdict for their execution. We didn’t make any demand for their release because we don’t spare any prisoners who are caught during fighting,” he said.—Agencies