When poor Punjabis return in coffins, who will speak for them?

Webdesk | July 10, 2025 | MediaBites

The bodies of nine Punjabi laborers brutally shot dead in a targeted attack on a passenger bus in Balochistan’s Nushki district were dispatched to their native cities on Tuesday for burial, leaving behind grieving families and a haunting silence from both authorities and the mainstream media.

The horrifying incident is the latest in a string of ethnically motivated killings of Punjabis in the restive province. Over the last six months alone, more than 40 Punjabis — mostly daily wage workers — have been killed in similar attacks. And yet, the national media remains disturbingly quiet, raising serious questions about selective outrage and ethnic bias in coverage.

While the tragic death of an actress in a Karachi apartment dominated headlines and social media from Karachi to Khyber, the targeted massacre of Punjabi laborers barely registered outside local news circles. Why is there no viral hashtag, no candlelight vigil, no televised panel demanding justice?

Even more troubling is the continued silence of the Interior Ministry. Despite recurring incidents of ethnic violence, no high-level resignations, no press conferences, and no policy response have followed. The Interior Minister remains in office, while the bodies of innocent workers return home in coffins.

These laborers were not politicians, militants, or criminals — they were poor Pakistanis trying to earn an honest living far from home. And their only ‘crime’? Speaking Punjabi.

The question every citizen must now ask:
Why are poor Punjabis being targeted and killed in Balochistan — and why does no one seem to care?

This silence is not just painful — it’s dangerous.