Three passengers were killed and five others injured after armed men opened fire on a Karachi-bound passenger bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday, prompting authorities to impose an indefinite curfew in the affected area, Dawn reported.According to Dawn, the attack took place in the Garo area of Khud Kocha tehsil in Mastung district. The passenger coach, operated by a private transport company, was travelling from Quetta to Karachi when gunmen positioned on nearby mountains opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle.Security forces and rescue teams rushed to the scene and shifted the victims to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Mastung. The bodies of the three passengers were later handed over to their families after legal formalities, while the injured remained under treatment. Authorities have launched an investigation and are searching for those behind the attack.The violence coincided with a separate explosion that damaged a bridge on the National Highway in the same area. Following the twin incidents, the Balochistan Home Department imposed an indefinite curfew across Khud Kocha sub-tehsil from 9pm on Wednesday.Babar Yousafzai, spokesperson for the Home Department, said the curfew would remain in force until further orders to ensure public safety and maintain law and order. Residents were instructed to remain indoors, with all non-essential movement prohibited. He warned that strict legal action would be taken against anyone violating the curfew and urged people to avoid unnecessary travel.The attack came amid heightened security operations in Balochistan. According to Pakistan’s military, security forces killed 10 militants and arrested two female suicide bombers along with their alleged facilitator during intelligence-based operations in Mastung and Surab districts over the past 48 hours.The latest attack adds to a series of militant incidents across Pakistan in recent weeks. Earlier this week, unidentified militants blew up a government middle school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district. In May, Balochistan also witnessed a deadly train bombing targeting security personnel that was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
