- 35 children injured, shifted to CMH Khuzdar.
- Area sealed off, evidence collection underway.
- Nation stands united against terrorism: Naqvi.
KHUZDAR: A powerful explosion near Zero Point in Khuzdar targeted a school bus on Wednesday, martyring five, including three children, and injuring dozens more, officials confirmed.
“In yet another cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by [the] terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan, [an] innocent school-going children bus was targeted today in Khuzdar,” the military’s media wing said in a statement.
In the communique, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that after having miserably failed on the battlefield, through these most heinous and cowardly such like acts, Indian proxies have been unleashed to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Having failed in Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos and being hunted by military and law enforcement agencies, the ISPR said, these Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians.
“[The] use of terrorism as a state policy by the Indian political government is abhorrent and reflective of their low morality and disregard for basic human norms,” the ISPR noted.
Planners, abettors, and executors of this cowardly Indian-sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice, and the heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world.
“Pakistan Armed Forces, with the support of a brave Pakistani nation, stand united to uproot Indian-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan in its all manifestations.”
According to Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar, 35 others sustained injuries in the blast.
The injured have been moved to CMH Khuzdar for treatment, while authorities have cordoned off the area to collect evidence from the scene.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the Indian-sponsored terrorist attack on the school bus. In a statement, he expressed deep sorrow over the martyrdom of innocent children and their teachers in the horrific incident.
The premier extended heartfelt sympathies to the parents of the deceased children. He also directed authorities to immediately identify those responsible and ensure they are brought to justice.
Additionally, PM Shehbaz instructed that the injured be provided with urgent medical treatment on a priority basis.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack, expressing deep sorrow and grief over the loss of innocent lives.
“Our heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved families of the children who lost their lives,” he said, terming the assailants as “beasts who deserve no mercy.”
“The enemy has shown its barbarism by attacking innocent children. Targeting a school bus is a despicable conspiracy aimed at destabilising the country,” the minister stated.
He added that such cowardly acts would not shake the nation’s resolve. “With national unity, every conspiracy will be defeated. We stand with the grieving families,” Naqvi affirmed.
The federal minister also prayed for the swift recovery of the injured and vowed that the perpetrators of this heinous crime would be brought to justice.
