QUETTA, Pakistan. A devastating suicide bombing struck an army-run school bus in Pakistan’s volatile Balochistan province on Wednesday, killing at least five people, including three children, and injuring several others. The attack took place in the Khuzdar district and has heightened already-tense relations between Pakistan and India, as both nations traded accusations following the incident.
According to Khuzdar district administrator Yasir Iqbal, the bus was carrying approximately 40 students to an army-administered educational institution when the bomber struck at close range. Local television aired heartbreaking images of the deceased, which included three young girls in middle and high school.
The Pakistani military swiftly issued a statement condemning the bombing and placing blame on India, alleging that the act was carried out by “Indian terror proxies.”
“Planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian-sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice,” the military’s media wing said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed the military’s sentiments, calling the attack “a heinous act against innocent children” and pledging a strong response.
However, India rejected the accusations as “baseless and diversionary.”
“In order to divert attention from its reputation as the global epicentre of terrorism and to hide its own gross failings, it has become second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated.
In a tit-for-tat escalation, India declared a Pakistani High Commission official in New Delhi persona non grata, the second such expulsion in a week — citing “activities not in keeping with his official status.” Pakistan responded similarly, expelling an official of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and summoning India’s chargé d’affaires to protest the “misuse of diplomatic privileges.”
The attack remains unclaimed, though it bears a chilling resemblance to the 2014 massacre in Peshawar where the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed more than 130 children at a military-run school. Wednesday’s bombing also adds to a growing list of violent incidents attributed to separatist groups in Balochistan. In March, the Baloch Liberation Army killed 31 people in a train hostage crisis after bombing a railway track.
While Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire on May 10, the fragile truce appears increasingly at risk. The most recent wave of hostilities was triggered by India’s accusation that Pakistan supported a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. a claim Islamabad vehemently denies.
Diplomatic analysts warn that further retaliations could plunge the nuclear-armed neighbors into deeper conflict, especially as both sides continue to exchange allegations of supporting cross-border militancy.
The identities of the deceased children have not yet been publicly released. Local officials said the injured students are receiving treatment at nearby military hospitals, with some in critical condition.
Authorities have launched a full-scale investigation into the blast, and security has been tightened across Balochistan amid fears of further attacks.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
- Venus L Peñaflorhttps://tutubi.ph/author/venusp/
