Summary Demonstrators placed 16 coffins with the bodies of their dead in front of the Governor House.
QUETTA (AP) - Hundreds of Pashtuns are protesting in Balochistan after deadly bus hijackings that killed 19 people, saying they refuse to bury their dead until the government offers them protection.
Demonstrators on Saturday placed 16 coffins with the bodies of their dead in front of the governor s house in the city of Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province.
Local Pashtun leader Allah Daad told The Associated Press on Saturday that survivors say the gunmen separated Pashtun passengers and made them stand in a line while allowing Baloch passengers to flee. Daad says the gunmen shot dead the Pashtun.
On the other hand, security forces launched a major operation before dawn Saturday to hunt down terrorists.
In a statement, the paramilitary Frontier Corps said 200 troops were taking part in the operation.
Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the violence began Friday night when the gunmen abducted 25 passengers and killed 19. He said authorities recovered the remaining six passengers, one of whom is in critical condition.
Bugti said the abductors initially captured 70 passengers but let around 50 flee.
A witness said the gunmen who attacked the buses wore security force uniforms. He said the gunmen separated passengers by ethnicity, ordering Pashtun people to stand in line while allowing Baloch passengers to flee.
"The gunmen lined up Pashtun passengers after checking their identity cards and then opened fire," said the survivor.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
