Pakistan blames India for suspected suicide attack on schoolbus
Pakistan
has blamed India for a suspected suicide attack on a schoolbus in its south-western province of Balochistan on Wednesday morning that killed four children.
The bus was en route to the army public school in the city of Khuzdar. According to local officials, an attacker drove a vehicle into the bus before detonating explosives.
Yasir Dashti, the deputy commissioner of Khuzdar, said four children, the bus driver and a security guard were killed and 12 more children were critically injured. He said the initial investigation indicated that it was a suicide bombing.
Three of the children killed were named as Hifsa Kausar (12), Esha Saleem (16) and Sania Somroo (12). Officials said they were still working to identify the fourth child.
READ MORE
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility but the media wing of Pakistan's military swiftly issued a statement alleging that its neighbour and rival India had 'planned and orchestrated' the attack.
'Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians,' the statement said.
The accusation comes at a highly volatile moment in India-Pakistan relations. Earlier this month, the two nuclear-armed countries came the closest they had been to war in decades as they launched drones and missiles into each other's territory, before a ceasefire was declared on May 10th.
The trigger for the conflict was a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 people. The Indian government accused Pakistan-backed militant groups of being behind the incident and launched targeted missile strikes as 'terrorist infrastructure and camps' over the border. Pakistan responded by firing missiles at Indian military targets.
[
Explainer: what we know so far about the India-Pakistan crisis
Opens in new window
]
In the aftermath of the ceasefire, the Indian government said any future terror attacks on its territory would be considered an act of war.
Pakistan has denied any involvement in last month's militant attack and has become more vocal in blaming India for a rising wave of attacks that have struck Pakistan, particularly in the regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of using proxy militant groups to carry out terror attacks in order to destabilise the country.
In Balochistan, home to a decades-long bloody insurgency, the area's Liberation Army, a separatist militant group, has been behind a growing number of incidents including suicide bombings and the recent hijacking of a train. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP, have been intensifying recently.
Shehbaz Sharif
, Pakistan's prime minister, echoed the military in blaming India for Wednesday's attack on the schoolbus. 'Terrorists operating under Indian patronage attacking innocent children on a schoolbus is clear evidence of their hostility,' he said.
A Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind, denounced the attack as the 'hideous face of Indian state-sponsored terrorism'.
The attack echoed an incident more than a decade earlier when the TTP struck an army public school in the city of Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing more than 100 schoolchildren. It was one of the deadliest militant attacks on children in Pakistan's history.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Irish Times
Family reunification delays having ‘devastating' impact on refugee families
Government delays in processing refugee family reunification applications are having a 'devastating' impact on families torn apart by war and violence, a solicitor has warned. In the case of Afghan applicants, many are awaiting a decision in Pakistan where they face deportation or forced return, says Andrea Martin, a retired solicitor who now works with Afghan refugees in Ireland. 'I don't think the Department of Justice or the Irish Government has any idea of how devastating such a long waiting period is for families that have already been devastated by trauma and involuntary separation,' said Ms Martin. 'The anxiety experienced by family members in Ireland when a parent, child or spouse is in danger overseas is appalling to witness. Some live daily with the fear that their family member is going to be arrested or killed, or drafted into a domestic or foreign army.' Ms Martin says the applications she has worked on usually take three years for full processing. READ MORE The Department of Justice said the median processing time for refugee family reunification applications in 2024 was 16 months. The median number describes the midpoint in the range. The current average processing time is 18 months, according to a recent statement from the Minister for Justice. Asked about delays in the system, a department spokesman said processing times varied depending on the nature of the application, documentation supplied and the 'often complex assessment' of applications. 'It should be noted that no two applications are the same and that numerous factors can impact processing times.' Zahra*, an Afghan refugee living in Canada but whose family is in Ireland and waiting to be reunited with a parent in hiding in Pakistan, said the process had caused 'deep depression and anxiety in my parents'. The woman and her parents requested not to be named for fear of reprisals by the Taliban. 'Every day we live with instability and fear,' she told The Irish Times over WhatsApp. 'My mother and father are struggling with sadness and loneliness, my siblings and I feel helpless we cannot do anything to bring them back together.' If forcibly returned to Afghanistan, her parent could face 'imprisonment, torture and persecution at the hands of the Taliban ,' she said. 'Reuniting Afghan families with their loved ones in safe third countries is not only a humanitarian need but an urgent one. Only by being together can we begin to rebuild our lives with dignity and hope.' Nearly 844,500 Afghan refugees have been forcibly returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan since 2023 as part of Pakistan's repatriation plan, according to a recent Amnesty International report. Earlier this year, Pakistan's government said Afghans holding proof of registration must leave by June 2025. It is also understood Afghans with approved visas to travel to a third country, such as Ireland, have 30 days to leave Pakistan before they are deported. Back in Afghanistan, they risk persecution by the Taliban, and women and girls are denied a broad range of rights and freedoms. Afghan refugees were among the top five nationalities to be granted family reunification to Ireland last year, along with people from Somalia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Sudan. There is no fast-track system in place for emergency situations and the family reunification unit considers applications 'on a case-by-case basis', said the department. The unit has issued 55 per cent more decisions on applications so far this year compared with the same period last year, it said. To date this year 542 applications have been made. A total of 1,467 applications were made in 2024. There are 13.5 staff working in the family reunification unit, compared with 10 staff members last year. The department said it could not provide the 'precise number' of staff who worked in the unit in 2022 and 2023. Irish Refugee Council (IRC) managing solicitor Katie Mannion said family reunification application delays were putting people's lives 'completely on hold' and affected their 'ability to integrate'. Often, refugee parents must flee and leave their children behind with extended family members in precarious living situations, said Ms Mannion. Most of these parents misguidedly believed they could be quickly reunited with their children. Once they have been granted refugee status, which can take years, and apply for family reunification within 12 months, they must secure documentation to prove their relationship with a family member, a time-consuming and sometimes dangerous process, said Ms Mannion. Family members left behind must often take 'extremely dangerous journeys to access DNA testing', she said, adding that many Eritreans found it 'almost impossible' to get birth certificates. In a recent IRC-supported case, two children disappeared while their parents awaited a decision. In another case, an Afghan woman awaiting a decision was forced to marry a Taliban member, Ms Mannion said. Immigration lawyer Stephen Kirwan, who has worked on family reunification applications with Somali, Afghan, Nigerian and Georgian refugees, said delays had 'reached crisis point'. 'These are very vulnerable people, legally declared as refugees, and it's their family members,' he said. 'The indeterminacy of it causes such stress. The problem is you're hurting real, vulnerable people. There's no push or pull factor here, it's humanity.' *Pseudonym used to protect identity
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- RTÉ News
India edge Ireland to complete series win
India edged a thrilling second encounter with Ireland 2-1 at Pembroke, despite the hosts' best effort to draw level in the closing minutes. After losing the opening match in the series on Monday 4-0, the Irish came out of the blocks quickly. Early periods of possession allowed the hosts to settle into the game and produce chances. India, however, eventually producing a number of circle entries late in the opening quarter, but Ireland defended soundly to keep it scoreless The first penalty corner of the game would go the way of India in the subsequent corner, with Harmanpreet Singh's drag-flick deflected wide by the Irish defensive penalty corner team. Ireland responded, winning a penalty corner of their own which was well saved off Luke Madeley. The resulting long corner saw India steal the ball and break quickly, eventually breaking the deadlock when Lakra Shilanand finished off the smooth counter-attacking move. Ireland's intensity continued into the second half as they looked to find a route back into the game. Sustained pressure and good counter-pressing kept India pegged back deep in their own half for long periods as the Irish looked to break their way into the Indian circle. A rare attack from the visitors gave them an opportunity at goal which they didn't squander, Dulpreet deflecting home on the back post to double their lead. The home side responded almost immediately, however. An attacking move down the left almost straight from tip-off saw an inviting ball into the circle reach Louis Rowe, the Banbridge forward did well to find an inch of space and flick goalwards, squeezing the ball into the side netting It was almost exclusively one-way traffic in the final quarter, with Ireland throwing every remaining ounce of energy at India as they searched for an equaliser. An incisive run from Mark McNellis and clever piece of skill won Ireland a late penalty corner and a golden opportunity to equalise with just seconds remaining. Luke Madeley's effort from the corner looked destined to end up in the back of the net, but the attempt was parried wide thanks to a textbook save from the India keeper. Both sides will now travel to Amstelveen to face the Netherlands in their next stage of the FIH Pro League. Ireland will face the Dutch on 11/12 June at 7pm (Irish time).
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Irish Independent
Ireland go down battling to India in thrilling second game of two-match series
The Olympic bronze medalists and world number five ranked nation managed to hold onto their 2-1 lead as Ireland fought to draw level in the closing minutes. Ireland's second encounter against India on home soil saw them come out of the blocks quickly as they looked to improve on the performance from the previous day. Early periods of possession allowed Ireland to settle into the game and produce chances. India did, however, managed to work themselves into the game eventually producing a number of circle entries late in the opening quarter, but Ireland defended soundly to keep the scoreline level. The first penalty corner of the game would go the way of India in quarter two, with Harmanpreet Singh's drag-flick deflected wide by the Irish defensive penalty corner team. Ireland responded, winning a penalty corner of their own which was well saved off Luke Madeley. The resulting long corner saw India steal the ball and break quickly, eventually breaking the deadlock when Lakra Shilanand finished off the smooth counter attacking move. Ireland's intensity continued into the second half as they looked to find a route back into the game. Sustained pressure and good counter-pressing kept India pegged back deep in their own half for long periods as Ireland looked to break their way into the Indian circle. A rare India attack gave them an opportunity at goal which they didn't squander, Dulpreet deflecting home on the back post to double their lead. ADVERTISEMENT The home side responded almost immediately, however. An attacking move down the left almost straight from tip-off saw an inviting ball into the circle reach Louis Rowe, the Banbridge forward did well to find an inch of space and flick goalwards, squeezing the ball into the side-netting to grab Ireland's first goal and half the deficit. It was almost exclusively one-way traffic in the final quarter, with Ireland throwing every remaining ounce of energy at India as they searched for an equaliser. An incisive run from Mark McNellis and clever piece of skill won Ireland a late penalty corner and a golden opportunity to equalise with just seconds remaining. Luke Madeley's effort from the corner looked destined to end up in the back of the net, but the attempt was parried wide thanks to a textbook save from the India keeper. India walked away as 2-1 victors. Both Ireland and India will now travel to Amstelveen to face the Netherlands in their next stage of the FIH Pro League. Ireland will face the Dutch on June 11 and 12 at 7pm Irish time, with both games available to watch on the TG4 player.
