At least five people, including three children, were killed and several others injured in a devastating blast targeting a school bus in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday morning. Authorities have confirmed that the explosion was likely the result of a suicide attack.
The injured, many of them students, were rushed to the Combined Military Hospital in Khuzdar. Those in critical condition are being transferred to major medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi.
In a statement, the military condemned the attack as a “cowardly and ghastly act of terror,” alleging that it was orchestrated by Indian intelligence and carried out by their proxies operating within Balochistan. “Having failed militarily, Indian proxies now resort to targeting innocents to sow fear and instability,” the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The attack has triggered widespread national and international condemnation.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called the deliberate targeting of children “a red line that must never be crossed,” adding that the act violated fundamental human values and international law. HRCP criticized federal and provincial governments for their inability to prevent such violence and urged lawful prosecution of the perpetrators, alongside long-term reforms addressing governance, security, and representation in Balochistan.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called the attack “despicable and inhuman,” adding: “This cowardice against our children is an attack on the soul of Pakistan.”
The National Commission on the Rights of Children issued a statement condemning the bombing as “inhumane and barbaric,” and urged authorities to take swift measures to protect schoolchildren, particularly in vulnerable regions.
International bodies and foreign missions also expressed their horror:
- UNICEF extended condolences and expressed solidarity with the victims’ families.
- UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Education Stefania Giannini said: “Going to school should never put any child in danger… This must end.”
- The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad called the attack “brutal and unconscionable,” and reaffirmed its support for Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
- The Chinese embassy expressed strong condemnation and reaffirmed opposition to terrorism in all forms.
- Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Afghanistan’s interim government, and other international voices also issued messages of sympathy and condemnation.
Prominent Pakistani politicians and public figures expressed outrage:
- Sherry Rehman urged a transparent investigation: “We need to know who was behind this horrible carnage.”
- Ahsan Iqbal and Shireen Mazari both demanded swift justice and accountability.
- Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar described the bombing as “plain evil.”
- Journalist Abbas Nasir posted: “A special place in hell must await the murderers.”
Sadly, this attack adds to a grim history of violence against students in Pakistan. The school bags left scattered on the road have become a haunting symbol of the country’s continued struggle against terrorism.