At least five people, including three children, were killed in a blast targeting a bus carrying students in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday morning. A number of children also sustained injuries.
According to local authorities, the bodies and the injured were moved to the Khuzdar Combined Military Hospital, from where those in critical condition would be referred to medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi. Preliminary findings indicated that the attack was a suicide blast.
In a statement, the military, while calling the incident “cowardly and ghastly”, said that it was planned and orchestrated by India, and executed by its proxies in Balochistan. “After having miserably failed in the battlefield, through these most heinous and cowardly acts, Indian proxies have been unleashed to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the Inter Services Public Relations said.
The attack drew widespread condemnation from all segments of society.
In a post on X, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the attack. “The deliberate targeting of schoolchildren — innocent noncombatants in every sense — is a red line that must never be crossed,” it said, adding that the act violated the most basic tenets of humanity and international humanitarian law.
“The continued failure of the federal and provincial governments to prevent such attacks highlights serious and persistent lapses in providing security to common citizens. The state has an obligation to uphold law and order by strengthening civilian institutions and the rule of law, not through indiscriminate kinetic responses,” the commission stated.
It further called for the immediate identification and prosecution of the perpetrators and their enablers through lawful means. “We also stress the urgent need for a meaningful political dialogue to address the deep-rooted problems of representation, governance and resource distribution in Balochistan,” the HRCP added.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the attack “a despicable and inhuman act, beneath all moral and human values”.
“This cowardice against our children is an attack on the soul of Pakistan. Innocent lives, full of dreams, extinguished in an instant. We share in the grief of the bereaved families,” he wrote on X, vowing that Pakistan would bring all those responsible to light and justice.
The National Commission on the Rights of Children also condemned the attack. “Targeting innocent children seeking knowledge is an absolutely unacceptable, inhumane, and barbaric act.”
It called on the government, particularly the provincial authorities, to carry out an immediate, transparent, and thorough investigation into the incident, along with introducing swift protection measures for school children, especially in vulnerable districts.
Unicef also released a statement, extending condolences to the families, adding that it stood in solidarity with all those affected.
On the other hand, the US Embassy in Islamabad said it stood with Pakistan in condemning the “brutal” and “unconscionable” attack.
“The murder of innocent children is beyond comprehension. We grieve with the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts are with those recovering. No child should ever fear going to school. We stand with those in Pakistan working to end this violence,” it said.
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said that today’s terrorist attack was “plain evil and cowardly”, adding that whoever was behind it deserved no mercy.
Journalist and former Dawn editor Abbas Nasir also took to X and said: “What kind of ideology or cause targets innocent children. A special place in hell must await the murderers.”
Meanwhile, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said he was saddened and outraged by the horrific attack. “This act of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he wrote on X, adding that the government would ensure all those responsible were brought to justice.
Separately, PPP leader Sherry Rehman extended heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. “We need to know who was behind this horrible carnage … The perpetrators of this terrorist attack need to be immediately investigated, exposed, and brought to swift justice,” she said.
Former human rights minister Shireen Mazari also stated that targeting children was a despicable and cowardly act of terrorism. “No amount of condemnation can ever be enough.”
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, this is not the first time students have become victims of terrorism. Here’s a timeline of some of the major attacks.
Header image: School bags sprawled on the road after a bus carrying students came under attack in Khuzdar. — DawnNewsTV
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