Transporters in northern Pakistan go on strike against bus shooting

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Transporters in northern Pakistan took their vehicles off the roads as part of their strike on Sunday against a bus shooting incident that killed at least eight passengers a day before.

At least eight people, including two soldiers, were killed and another 26 injured on Saturday in a shooting on a passenger bus at Karakorum Highway in the Gilgit-Baltistan region that borders neighboring China.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ibrahim Shigri, an official of the Gilgit-Baltistan Transport Association, told Anadolu that a "complete wheel-jam” strike is being observed against the incident.

All kinds of transport from Gilgit-Baltistan to the rest of the country remained suspended, he added.

Transporters also took out a rally from the city center of Gilgit to Gilgit Press Club, demanding the government to ensure the safety of transport at Karakorum Highway, a key route of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has condemned the attack and directed security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice, a statement from his office said on Sunday.

Several protest demonstrations were held across Gilgit-Baltistan and the capital Islamabad by transporters and civil society.

In 2021, at least 12 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed when their bus was targeted in the Kohistan district bordering Chilas.