In a tragic incident in Balochistan’s Hub district, a truck en route to the shrine in the Khuzdar district transporting pilgrims to the Shah Noorani shrine veered off the road and into a ditch, resulting in at least 13 fatalities and 20 injuries.
A Balochistan government spokesperson confirmed that the victims were journeying from Karachi, although police specified that the pilgrims hailed from Thatta district in Sindh. In response to the catastrophe, Balochistan’s Chief Minister, Sarfraz Bugti, immediately ordered the district administration to facilitate the swift hospitalization of the injured.
The provincial government declared an emergency at Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub, and urgent directives were issued to the Kalat and Hub commissioners. Further, the Chief Minister urged collaboration with the Sindh government to ensure critical patients could be transferred to Karachi for advanced medical care.
Balochistan’s Health Secretary, Abdullah Khan, reported that the deceased and most injured were transported to Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital in Hub. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi extended his condolences and well wishes for the quick recovery of the injured, reflecting on the tragedy that struck the pilgrims.
The pilgrims were headed to the Shah Noorani shrine, nestled in a secluded mountainous area roughly 200km from Karachi. This incident follows a similar tragedy last December, when a bus travelling from the same shrine to Karachi caught fire in the Hub district, leading to casualties and injuries. The fire, triggered by an overheated engine due to excessive speed, completely consumed the bus.
Such bus accidents are not isolated incidents in Pakistan; for instance, in November 2023, a school bus tragedy near Islamabad’s Shahdara area resulted in a teacher’s death and injured 20 others.
