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At least six people, including four children, were killed when a school bus was targeted by a blast in Pakistan’s Khuzdar district, located in southwest Balochistan, officials said.
India-backed militants targeted the school bus, which belongs to Army Public School, and was picking up students when a vehicle-borne IED blast crashed into the bus.
According to Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, the bus driver and his assistant were also among the dead.
Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a senior government official in Khuzdar, said that at least 38 people were injured, several of them are critical and are undergoing medical assistance.
“The attack appears to be a vehicle-borne IED explosion,” he added, citing initial investigations.
Bugti, addressing a press conference in Quetta, stated that 46 students were on board at the time of the blast. “We are airlifting the critically wounded to Quetta for immediate treatment,” he said.
Pakistan Army strongly condemned the attack and accused India of using terrorist proxies to carry out attacks against soft targets, including children and civilians.
In a statement, the military said this was a cowardly attack orchestrated by the Indian state through its proxies in Balochistan. The attackers, it said, would be “hunted down and brought to justice.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the incident, blaming “terrorists working under Indian patronage.” He extended his condolences to the families of the victims and vowed to defeat terrorism in all forms.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing, and no group has claimed responsibility so far.
