Pakistan School Bus Attack Kills 5+
A bomb attack targeting a school bus in Pakistan’s Balochistan province has claimed the lives of at least five people, including three children, and injured dozens more.
The explosion occurred around 7:40 a.m. local time near the town of Khuzdar, where the bus was carrying roughly 40 schoolchildren, according to police reports shared with the BBC.
Images circulating on social media reveal the devastating aftermath: the bus reduced to charred wreckage with scattered backpacks around the scene.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Balochistan remains a hotspot for insurgency and ongoing human rights concerns.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the bombing as “sheer barbarism,” labeling the perpetrators as “beasts who target children” to sow chaos and instability in the country.
The Pakistani military accused neighboring India and its alleged proxies within Balochistan of orchestrating the attack, though no concrete evidence has been presented.
This violent incident comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and India, following a recent deadly two-week conflict sparked by a militant assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan denied involvement in that assault, but India retaliated with strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Earlier this year, a deadly train siege in Balochistan’s remote Sibi district killed 21 civilians and four soldiers.
The attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for independence for decades.
The BLA is designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and several Western countries, and Pakistan’s military has accused the group of acting as an “Indian proxy,” a charge the BLA denies.
At the same time, Baloch activists accuse Pakistan’s security forces of committing human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, unlawful detentions, torture, and killings over the past two decades as part of their crackdown on the separatist insurgency.
The recent bombing highlights the ongoing instability and complexity of the conflict in Balochistan, underscoring the tragic impact on civilians, particularly children, caught in the crossfire.
Pakistan School Bus Attack Kills 5+