In a separate incident, two individuals had been killed on the identical freeway when gunmen fired at their automotive after they tried to interrupt via their cordon.

The banned Balochistan Libe­r­a­tion Army claimed respo­nsibility for the killings, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The 9 individuals from Punjab had been on their method to Iran, from the place they had been planning to enter Europe by way of Turkiye, in keeping with the report. They left their cities on April 7 with visas stamped for Iran and Iraq however had no plans to remain in these international locations.

Quoting native individuals, the report mentioned that their precise vacation spot was Europe, which they wished to achieve by way of Turkiye however had procured legitimate visas for Iraq and Iran to keep away from Iranian immigration authorities. They wished to keep away from the scrutiny of the Iranian border officers by pretending to be pilgrims going to holy websites within the two international locations.

Iranian border officers typically think about younger Pakistanis as unlawful immigrants making an attempt to enter Europe by way of Turkiye, which borders Iran, the report mentioned.

The authorities vowed strict motion in opposition to the militants.

Baloch nationalists typically perform such acts of violence in opposition to the individuals of Punjab. They allege that the individuals from Punjab had been concerned in extracting the mineral wealth of Balochistan. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed to have carried out three main terror strikes within the province in current weeks in Mach city, Gwadar port and a naval base in Turbat during which safety forces killed some 17 militants.