Quetta, Pakistan (AP) – An attack on a school bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including three children, and left 38 others injured, according to officials Tensioned attack in Balochistan.
The region has been embroiled in a prolonged insurgency with multiple separatist factions, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019.
Local deputy commissioner Yasir Iqbal reported that the attack occurred on the outskirts of Kuzdar city while buses were transporting children to a military-affiliated school.
The military responded quickly to the incident, with ambulances transporting the victims to a nearby hospital. Local television coverage showcased severely damaged buses and scattered debris.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but there is suspicion towards ethnic Baloch separatists, known for frequently targeting local security forces and civilians.
Pakistani Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, expressing his sorrow over the children’s deaths. He referred to the perpetrators as “beasts,” decrying their act as a “cold-blooded assault on innocent children.”
Initially, officials reported four child fatalities but later revised the death toll, confirming that two adults were also among the deceased. They expressed concern that the number of casualties could rise, as several children were reported to be in critical condition. The deceased students included three girls from the Army Public Schools in Kuzdar.
Both the US Embassy and UNICEF condemned the attack on social media. “The killing of innocent children is incomprehensible,” the embassy stated. “Children should not live in fear of attending school. We stand with the people of Pakistan to put an end to this violence.”
Despise India
The military issued a statement describing the bombing as “yet another atrocious and savage attack.”
There has been no immediate response from New Delhi.
Many attacks in the region have been attributed to the BLA, which claims to receive support from India—an assertion India denies.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif expressed his sorrow and criticized India without providing evidence for his claims.
“The attacks on school buses by terrorists backed by India demonstrate a clear animosity towards Balochistan’s educational institutions,” Sharif stated, affirming the government’s commitment to bringing the culprits to justice.
Sharif’s office announced he would be traveling with the army chief to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan. Field Marshal Asim Munir will visit the injured and oversee the investigation.
Pakistan regularly accuses India of fomenting violence within its borders, and these allegations have escalated tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations, particularly amid increasing volatility in the contested Kashmir region.
This uptick in tensions has raised concerns of a broader conflict, during which the BLA has sought India’s assistance. However, India has not responded to this appeal.
A Vicious Rebellion
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, has a small population. It is home to the country’s ethnic Baloch minority, who claim to face government discrimination.
In one of the recent deadliest incidents, BLA militants killed 33 people, mostly soldiers, in attacks on trains carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan this past March.
Earlier this week, the BLA vowed to escalate violence against the “Pakistani military and its collaborators,” committing to “lay the groundwork for a peaceful, prosperous, and independent Balochistan.”
Extremist groups are also active in Balochistan, and although it is uncommon for separatists to target schoolchildren in the state, similar attacks have been reported in the northwestern regions of the country in recent years.
While most schools and universities in Pakistan are administered by the government or private entities, the military oversees a significant number of institutions catering to both civilian children and military personnel.
In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban executed the deadliest school attack at a military-run facility in Peshawar, resulting in 154 fatalities.
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad.
Source: apnews.com