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Express Tribune
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Death toll from Khuzdar bombing rises to eight
A female student, Malaika, critically wounded in a recent school bus attack in Khuzdar has died from her wounds, security officials said on Friday, bringing the death toll to eight, including six school children, in what authorities describe as an Indian-backed terrorist incident. The deceased include five female students and one male student, security sources confirmed, adding that the blood of these innocent children will be avenged, and that the Indian-backed instigators would be held accountable. The suicide attack targeting a school bus in Khuzdar was carried out on Wednesday morning this week. The suspected bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school bus as it drove past Zero Point near Rakhshan Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said, adding that the bus was ferrying students to the Army Public School situated within the Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle was rigged with more than 30 kilograms of explosives, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad. The military's media wing, Inter-Service Public relations (ISPR), had confirmed that cowardly and ghastly attack was planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan. The attack sparked an outpouring of condemnation and condolences from the country's top civil and military leadership.
Express Tribune
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Another injured student in the Khuzdar attack has succumbed to wounds
Listen to article A female student, Malaika, critically wounded in a recent school bus attack in Khuzdar has died from her wounds, security officials said on Friday, bringing the death toll to eight, including six school children, in what authorities describe as an Indian-backed terrorist incident. The deceased include five female students and one male student, security sources confirmed, adding that the blood of these innocent children will be avenged, and that the Indian-backed instigators would be held accountable. The suicide attack targeting a school bus in Khuzdar was carried out on Wednesday morning this week. The suspected bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school bus as it drove past Zero Point near Rakhshan Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said, adding that the bus was ferrying students to the Army Public School situated within the Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle was rigged with more than 30 kilograms of explosives, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad. The military's media wing, Inter-Service Public relations (ISPR), had confirmed that cowardly and ghastly attack was planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan. The attack sparked an outpouring of condemnation and condolences from the country's top civil and military leadership. The United Nations Security Council also strongly condemned the terrorist attack
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Suicide bomber targets school bus in Khuzdar
Listen to article At least five people – including three schoolchildren – were martyred and several others injured in a suicide attack targeting a school bus in Khuzdar early Wednesday morning, civil and military officials said. The suspected bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school bus as it drove past Zero Point near Rakhshan Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said, adding that the bus was ferrying students to the Army Public School (APS) situated within the Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle was rigged with more than 30 kilograms of explosives, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad. The military's media wing stated that "three innocent children and two adults have embraced Shahadat" and multiple children have sustained injuries in the "cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan". The ISPR added that India has unleashed its proxies to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa through such heinous and cowardly acts after miserably failing on the battlefield. Soon after the deadly attack, security forces threw a cordon around the area and launched an investigation. Security was tightened in and around Khuzdar following the bombing, with checkpoints established and patrols intensified to prevent further attacks. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti revealed that the intelligence agencies had prior warnings of a proxy strike being plotted by hostile forces. "We could not have imagined such brutality, where innocent schoolchildren would be targeted," he told the media at a hurriedly called presser. "This is the true face of our enemies." Indian proxies are behind this atrocity, the chief minister said, adding that Afghanistan's territory was being used as a launch pad for such attacks aimed at destabilising Balochistan. Balochistan has been in the grip of a deadly separatist insurgency since the killing of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in a security operation in 2006. The groups involved in the insurgency are being supported, trained, and bankrolled by the India spy agency RAW. "Having failed in the Operation Bunnianum Marsoos and being hunted by military and law enforcement agencies, these Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians," added the ISPR. "Use of terrorism as a state policy by Indian political government is abhorrent and reflective of their low morality and disregard for basic human norms," it added. The military further added that planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian-sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice and the heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world. "Pakistan Armed Forces with support of brave Pakistani nation stand united to uproot Indian-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan in its all manifestations." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir rushed to Quetta on an emergency visit where they received a briefing on the Khuzdar attack, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. The premier condemned the terrorist attack and expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of innocent children and their teachers. He extended his condolences to the bereaved families and directed authorities to identify and hold those responsible accountable. President Asif Zardari also denounced the attack as a human rights violation and extended condolences to the bereaved families. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that "the deliberate targeting of schoolchildren - innocent noncombatants in every sense - is a red line that must never be crossed. This act violates the most basic tenets of humanity and international humanitarian law," it said in a statement. "The state has an obligation to uphold law and order by strengthening civilian institutions and the rule of law - not through indiscriminate kinetic responses," it added while calling for the immediate identification and prosecution of the perpetrators and their enablers through lawful means. The HRCP also stressed the urgent need for a meaningful political dialogue to address the deep-rooted problems of representation, governance, and resource distribution in Balochistan. Condemnations also poured in from different countries. The United States denounced the murder of innocent children "beyond comprehension." In a statement shared on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the US Embassy in Islamabad expressed deep sorrow over the attack and extended solidarity with the victims and their families. "No child should ever fear going to school," US Chargé d'Affaires Natalie Baker was reported as saying in the statement. "We stand with those in Pakistan working to end this violence." Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong also offered "deepest condolences" to the victims' families and sincere sympathy to the injured. "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express our deepest condolences to the deceased and sincere sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families," the envoy said at a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. "China opposes all forms of terrorism and will continue to firmly support Pakistan in advancing counter-terrorism operations, maintaining social stability, and protecting the safety of the people." Officials say that India has been frustrated after its defeats on the military and diplomatic fronts during the recent confrontation with Pakistan – and now it has activated its proxy terrorists to unleash chaos in the country. India considers itself the regional hegemon, but DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a TV interview earlier this week that: "Pakistan will never bow down to Indian hegemony ... the sooner they [India] realise this, the better it will be for regional and global peace." (With additional input from News Desk)
Gulf Today
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Suicide bomber hits school bus in Pakistan, killing five, including 3 students
Three children were among five dead when a suicide bomber struck an army school bus in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday, in an attack Pakistan blamed on Indian proxies. Around 40 students were on the bus that was headed to an army-run school and several sustained injuries, said Yasir Iqbal, the administrator of Khuzdar district, where the incident took place. "In yet another cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan, innocent school-going children's bus was targeted today in Khuzdar,' the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. "As per the initial reports, three innocent schoolchildren0 and two adults have embraced martyrdom and multiple children have sustained injuries,' it added. "After having miserably failed in the battlefield, through these most heinous and cowardly such like acts Indian proxies have been unleashed to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.' Photos of the students, who were killed in the suicide bombing in Khuzdar. Earlier, Khuzdar Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said that the blast occurred when the school bus was near the Khuzar Zero Point. The bodies and the injured were taken to the Khuzdar Combined Military Hospital (CMH), from where the seriously injured would be referred to medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi, Dashti said. People carry pictures of the martyred students as they gather in their memory in Karachi on Wednesday. Reuters Police, the Frontier Corps (FC) and other law enforcement agencies' personnel have reached the site of the incident to collect evidence for an investigation. While a probe was underway, the deputy commissioner said preliminary findings indicated that the attack was a suicide blast. CONDEMNATION Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed his condolences and also blamed India, without providing any evidence to support the claim. "The attack on a school bus by terrorists backed by India is clear proof of their hostility toward education in Balochistan,' Shahbaz said, vowing that the government would bring the perpetrators to justice. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the children's deaths. He called the perpetrators "beasts' who deserve no leniency, saying the enemy had committed an act of "sheer barbarism by targeting innocent children.' Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the incident and said the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Provincial government spokesperson Shahid Rind denounced the attack as the "hideous face of Indian state-sponsored terrorism', as well as a "cowardly and inhumane act'. In a statement, Rind echoed the ISPR's stance, saying that India was "creating instability in Balochistan to hide its failures'. He called India's "state-sponsored terrorism a threat to world peace. Bugti vowed that they will not only expose every terrorist operating in the province, but also "eradicate them completely."
DW
21-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
Pakistan: Suicide bomber targets children's school bus – DW – 05/21/2025
Authorities in Pakistan are investigating the circumstances of a suspected suicide attack that killed at least four children in the insurgency-hit Balochistan province. A suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying school children in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least four children, authorities said on Wednesday. Two adults — the bus driver and his assistant — also lost their lives in the attack, which took place in the restive province's Khuzdar district. What do we know about the attack? The bus was headed to a military-run school at the time of the attack. Around 40 students were in the bus at the time. Security forces quickly arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area as the victims were taken to nearby hospitals. Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. "The initial probe suggests it was a suicide bombing," Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a senior local government official in Khuzdar district, told the AFP news agency. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Pakistan: What's behind the Balochistan armed insurgency? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did Pakistani PM and army say? The Pakistani military has released a statement blaming India for the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also accused India of involvement, without providing any evidence to support the claim. He vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors are already running high following their recent dayslong military confrontation in which both countries launched missiles and drones on one another . Both New Delhi and Islamabad then agreed to a ceasefire. Kashmiris struggle to make their voices heard To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What's the situation in Balochistan? Balochistan is the largest province by area in Pakistan, but is sparsely populated by around 9 million Balochs. The Baloch, a minority Sunni Muslim ethnic group, say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government. They point to the community being among the poorest in the country despite Balochistan boasting vast natural mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, silver and copper. The province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has witnessed a separatist insurgency for decades, with militants often targeting security forces as well as foreign nationals. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the most active militant group in the region. It blew up a railway track and took passengers from a train hostage in March, killing 31. The security situation in the province has worsened this year as several Baloch separatist groups announced the formation of a common armed front in March. Edited by: Kieran Burke
