Latest news with #Khuzdar
Arab News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Death toll from school bus bombing in Pakistan's Balochistan rises to 10
ISLAMABAD: The death toll from last week's bomb attack on a school bus in Pakistan's Balochistan province has risen to 10 as two more schoolchildren have died during treatment, Pakistani state media reported on Monday. Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-profile attacks on civilians and security forces. Wednesday's bombing killed five Pakistanis, including three school-goers, when their bus was en route to an army-run school in Balochistan's Khuzdar district. Three more students died later during treatment. 'Two more students, Sheema Ibrahim and Muskan, have also succumbed to their injuries taking the [children's] toll to eight,' the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported on Monday. Pakistani civilian and military officials have blamed the May 21 bombing on India. On Friday, Pakistan's Interior Secretary Khurram Muhammad Agha described the Khuzdar bombing as an attack on 'our values, our education and on the very fabric of our society.' 'Initial findings confirm that this attack is in continuity of a broader pattern of violence sponsored by India through Fitna Al-Hindustan (FAH) operating under the tutelage and the patronage of the Indian intelligence agency R&AW,' he said, without offering any proof to link India to the attack. New Delhi has distanced itself from the bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan's 'internal failures.' The FAH comprises several separatist groups and independently operating cells in the insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistani province, according to Pakistani officials. These cells, after having suffered immense casualties in past few years, have now resorted to hitting 'soft targets.' The rise in deaths from Khuzdar bomb attack comes a day after Pakistan's army said it had killed nine 'Indian-sponsored' militants in three separate operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Relations between Pakistan and India touched a new low last month, when gunmen killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir in an attack India blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad has denied complicity and called for a credible, international investigation into it. Pakistan and India have a bitter history and have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir. The nuclear-armed archfoes traded missile and drones strikes as heightened tensions spiraled into a military four-day conflict this month that ended with a United States-brokered truce on May 10. Pakistan has mostly blamed India for supporting a separatist insurgency in Balochistan, a southwestern province that borders Iran and Afghanistan. It also accuses it of backing the Pakistani Taliban who regularly carry out attacks in the country's northwestern and other regions. New Delhi denies the allegations.
Washington Post
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Death toll from Pakistan school bus bombing rises to 8 as Islamabad blames India
ISLAMABAD — The death toll from a school bus bombing in southwestern Pakistan rose to eight on Friday after three more critically wounded children died, according to the country's military, which blamed rival India for allegedly supporting rebels behind the attack. The victims included two soldiers who were aboard the bus when it was attacked Wednesday in Khuzdar, a city in Balochistan province, where a separatist insurgency has raged for decades. A total of 53 people, including 39 children, were wounded in the attack.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Death toll from Pakistan school bus bombing rises to 8 as Islamabad blames India
The death toll from a school bus bombing in southwestern Pakistan rose to eight on Friday after three more critically wounded children died, according to the country's military, which blamed rival India for allegedly supporting rebels behind the attack. The victims included two soldiers who were aboard the bus when it was attacked Wednesday in Khuzdar, a city in Balochistan province, where a separatist insurgency has raged for decades. A total of 53 people, including 39 children, were wounded in the attack. The children were going to their Army Public School when the bombing happened. Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said that several of the wounded children remain critical. He said an initial investigation suggested the bombing was carried out by insurgents from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, on India's instructions. Sharif said Pakistan had evidence that India is orchestrating 'terrorists attacks inside Pakistan" and the international community should take its notice. India has not responded to the allegation and Pakistan has presented no proof to back up its claim. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain high after the two sides earlier this month engaged in a four-day border conflict before agreeing to a cease-fire.
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Death toll from Pakistan school bus bombing rises to 8 as Islamabad blames India
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death toll from a school bus bombing in southwestern Pakistan rose to eight on Friday after three more critically wounded children died, according to the country's military, which blamed rival India for allegedly supporting rebels behind the attack. The victims included two soldiers who were aboard the bus when it was attacked Wednesday in Khuzdar, a city in Balochistan province, where a separatist insurgency has raged for decades. A total of 53 people, including 39 children, were wounded in the attack. The children were going to their Army Public School when the bombing happened. Military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said that several of the wounded children remain critical. He said an initial investigation suggested the bombing was carried out by insurgents from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, on India's instructions. Sharif said Pakistan had evidence that India is orchestrating 'terrorists attacks inside Pakistan' and the international community should take its notice. India has not responded to the allegation and Pakistan has presented no proof to back up its claim. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Tensions between India and Pakistan remain high after the two sides earlier this month engaged in a four-day border conflict before agreeing to a cease-fire.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan says initial probe confirms Indian involvement in school bus attack in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday that its initial probe into an attack on a school bus in the Balochistan province has confirmed the involvement of 'Indian terror proxies,' promising to defeat the 'nefarious' designs. Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-profile attacks on civilians and security forces. On Wednesday, at least seven people, including six children, were killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted the school bus en route to an army-run school in Balochistan's Khuzdar. Speaking at a press conference alongside a Pakistani military spokesman, Interior Secretary Khurram Muhammad Agha called the Khuzdar bombing an attack on 'our values, our education and on the very fabric of our society.' 'Initial findings confirm that this attack is in continuity of a broader pattern of violence sponsored by India through Fitna Al-Hindustan (FAH) operating under the tutelage and the patronage of the Indian intelligence agency R&AW,' he said, without offering any proof to link New Delhi to Wednesday's assault. The Indian administration has distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bus bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan's 'internal failures.' The FAH comprises several separatist groups and independently operating cells who have been operating in the insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistani province, according to the Pakistani officials. These cells, after having suffered immense casualties in past few years, have now resorted to hitting 'soft targets.' 'The terror proxies of Hindustan [India] have been tasked to accentuate their heinous attacks of terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere, sabotage development in the region, incite fear among the population and derail the journey of peace and development in an attempt to repeat their playbook of 1971 [a reference to the fall of Dhaka],' he said. During the presser, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry detailed various incidents of violence that he said were carried out by India-backed groups. 'Very recently the media international media has seen self-given confessions and acknowledgements of multiple surrendered terrorists of this Fitna Al-Hindustan who told that how Hindustan is funding, planning and carrying out terrorist acts in Balochistan,' he noted. Relations between Pakistan and India touched a new low last month, when gunmen killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir in an attack India blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies complicity and Lt Gen Chaudhry said New Delhi had still not provided any evidence to back up its accusation. A day earlier, Pakistan's top diplomat at the United Nations (UN) said they would raise the school bus attack at the UN and present evidence of Indian involvement to the international community. 'This was a heinous terrorist act directed against children, against students, [which is] totally unacceptable and condemnable,' Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told Arab News in an interview. Interior Secretary Agha said Pakistan and its people, particularly those in Balochistan, reject such 'nefarious designs' and Islamabad had the capacity and will to dismantle these networks and to bring the perpetrators and their handlers to justice. 'I assure you that the state in collaboration with the provincial governments and the state apparatus will defeat them,' he said. 'These Indian sponsored terrorists have no place in Pakistan. We have the wherewithal and the commitment to bring an end to this violence. Our resolved is firm and our response will be decisive.' Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and frequently accuse each other of fomenting militancy in the other's territory. Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir.
