Latest news with #schoolbusattack
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.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan says will present evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan school bus bombing at UN
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will raise the recent militant attack on a school bus in the southwestern Balochistan province at the United Nations (UN) and present evidence of Indian involvement to the international community, said the country's top diplomat at the UN on Thursday. At least six people, including four children, were killed on Wednesday when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted a school bus en route to an army-run school in the Khuzdar district. Balochistan has witnessed a separatist insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-casualty attacks on civilians and security forces. Pakistan says such militant outfits are backed by India, though New Delhi denies the claim. The Indian administration also distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bus bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan's 'internal failures.' 'This was a heinous terrorist act directed against children, against students, [which is] totally unacceptable and condemnable,' Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told Arab News in an interview. 'Pakistan is going to share the evidence [of Indian involvement] with the members of the international community, including in the UN,' he continued. Ahmad said Pakistan had also provided evidence of India's involvement in 'terrorist activities' in the past, adding it was going to do it again. He maintained New Delhi had been committing 'terrorism' in Pakistan both directly and through its proxies. He informed Pakistan would present a dossier to the UN and its member states to highlight a clear pattern of Indian involvement in militant violence aimed at destabilizing Pakistan, particularly Balochistan. 'The dossier will contain information about who is involved [and] what are the linkages,' he added. The envoy said Pakistan had, in the past, proposed the listing of Indian nationals involved in orchestrating violent activities in Pakistan. 'Some of the members of the Security Council … did not act responsibly and in fact they block such listings,' he informed, adding it was the collective responsibility of all UN members to assess the situation objectively and not protect India unnecessarily. Asked about India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the ambassador said Pakistan had already raised the issue at the Security Council, as the move was highly escalatory and posed an existential threat to the country. 'We discussed this … during the meeting of the Security Council that was held on 5th of May, where a number of members of the Security Council expressed concern because it is clearly viewed by the international community as a violation of international law,' he said.
CNA
21-05-2025
- CNA
5 dead after suicide bomber attacks school bus in southwestern Pakistan
A suspected suicide bomber has attacked a school bus in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least five people, including three children. More than 30 others were wounded. Authorities fear that the death toll may rise. Hira Mustafa reports from Islamabad.
Al Jazeera
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least five killed in southwest Pakistan school bus blast
At least five people have been killed in a blast targeting a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, the military said. Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a government official in Khuzdar, said at least 38 people were wounded in the attack on Wednesday. 'The school bus belonged to Army Public School as it was picking children in the morning when it was attacked by the suicide bomber,' he told Al Jazeera. Pakistan's military, in a statement, condemned the violence and accused 'Indian terror proxies' of involvement in the attack. It did not share evidence to support the claim. Moreover, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 'strongly condemned' the attack by 'terrorists working under Indian patronage.' Sharif also offered his 'sympathies' to the families of those who were killed by the 'brutality'. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. At least three children and two adults were killed in the attack, the army said in a statement. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack near Khuzdar's Zero Point area and expressed 'deep sorrow and grief' over those killed. 'The enemy attacked innocent children with barbarity. The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country,' he said in a statement. Authorities said that the death toll could increase due to the severity of the explosion. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder said Pakistan is taking the attack on the school bus 'very seriously'. 'The fact that the Baloch Liberation Army, which is a banned outfit, has normally taken responsibility for these attacks – Pakistan says these groups are funded by the Indian intelligence agency,' Hyder said. 'Pakistan and India have, of course, been trading blame every time there is an attack across the border… [but] this is not the first time an attack has taken place in Balochistan province,' he added. Balochistan province, which is rich in minerals and natural resources, has been home to a decades-long conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from Pakistan. Wednesday's attack came days after a car bombing killed four people near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan. Many attacks in the province are claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan says enjoyed the backing of neighbouring India – a claim that New Delhi denies. In one of the deadliest such attacks, BLA fighters killed 33 people, mostly soldiers, during an assault on a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan in March. Earlier this week, the BLA promised more attacks on the 'Pakistani army and its collaborators' and said its goal is to 'lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan'. Armed groups are also active in Balochistan and though it is unusual for separatists to target schoolchildren in the province, such attacks have been carried out in the restive northwest and elsewhere in the country in recent years. Most schools and colleges in Pakistan are operated by the government or the private sector, though the military also runs a significant number of institutions for children of both civilians and of serving or retired army personnel. In December 2014, armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeted APS in Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which more than 140 children were killed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At least five killed in southwest Pakistan school bus blast
At least five people have been killed in a blast targeting a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, the military said. Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a government official in Khuzdar, said at least 38 people were wounded in the attack on Wednesday. 'The school bus belonged to Army Public School as it was picking children in the morning when it was attacked by the suicide bomber,' he told Al Jazeera. Pakistan's military, in a statement, condemned the violence and accused 'Indian terror proxies' of involvement in the attack. It did not share evidence to support the claim. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. At least three children and two adults were killed in the attack, the army said in a statement. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack near Khuzdar's Zero Point area and expressed 'deep sorrow and grief' over those killed. 'The enemy attacked innocent children with barbarity. The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country,' he said in a statement. Authorities said that the death toll could increase due to the severity of the explosion. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Balochistan province, which is rich in minerals and natural resources, has been home to a decades-long conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from Pakistan. Wednesday's attack came days after a car bombing killed four people near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan. Many attacks in the province are claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan says enjoyed the backing of neighbouring India – a claim that New Delhi denies. In one of the deadliest such attacks, BLA fighters killed 33 people, mostly soldiers, during an assault on a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan in March. Earlier this week, the BLA promised more attacks on the 'Pakistani army and its collaborators' and said its goal is to 'lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan'. Armed groups are also active in Balochistan and though it is unusual for separatists to target schoolchildren in the province, such attacks have been carried out in the restive northwest and elsewhere in the country in recent years. Most schools and colleges in Pakistan are operated by the government or the private sector, though the military also runs a significant number of institutions for children of both civilians and of serving or retired army personnel. In December 2014, armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeted APS in Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which more than 140 children were killed.
