ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned a deadly attack on a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, in which children from the Army Public School were targeted by terrorists.
Speaking in National Assembly, the lawmakers across party lines blamed India for sponsoring the assault through proxy groups and called it a deliberate act of terrorism.
The terrorist attack, which took place on Wednesday morning, led to a somber session in Parliament, with Members of Parliament from all sides of the political divide expressed grief and outrage.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar informed the House that the incident was a result of India’s failure to confront Pakistan militarily.
“Innocent schoolchildren were targeted in Khuzdar. This is a day of national mourning,” Tarar said. “After suffering defeat on the battlefield, the enemy is now resorting to cowardly proxy warfare.”
He added that an investigation was under way and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice. He described the attackers as Indian-backed proxies and reaffirmed government’s resolve to eliminate such threats.
“The enemy lacks the courage to face our armed forces openly,” he stated, highlighting that the military, under the leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, had demonstrated strategic dominance.
Tarar also maintained that Pakistan had destroyed Indian airbases and French-made Rafale jets during recent military engagements and dismissed groups like “Fitnat-ul-Khwarij” as “insignificant.”
The ex-prime minister Raja Parvaiz Ashraf echoed these sentiments, condemning the attack as a heinous act of terror and blaming India. He emphasised that the attack violated international norms, particularly the prohibition of targeting civilians.
Ashraf revealed that one of the victims, a 17-year-old girl who died in the attack, belonged to his constituency in Gujar Khan and two of her siblings were also injured.
“Pakistan has lost over 80,000 civilians to terrorism. Instead of acknowledging this, India accuses us while it sponsors terrorism in our country,” he said. “The international community must take notice of India’s state-sponsored terrorism, which now threatens global peace.”
Aasia Ishaque of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) condemned the attack, calling it a cowardly act and said that targeting children was particularly shameful. “The smallest coffins are the heaviest,” she remarked.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Sher Afzal Marwat stressed that protecting children was the government’s foremost responsibility and praised the armed forces for their recent performance in clashes with India.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhary said the Khuzdar attack was part of a broader campaign of subversion backed by India.
“Our forces handed India a crushing defeat in conventional warfare,” he stated. “Now, they are resorting to covert acts like these to spread instability.”
Chaudhary also pointed out that Indian officials and analysts had made public threats to retaliate from Balochistan, which he called “well-documented.”
He confirmed that several security personnel had been martyred in the attack and others critically injured. “We salute the bravery of our martyrs,” he said.
The minister praised the leadership of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu for their strategic vision and operational successes, calling recent military operations a landmark in modern warfare.
Science and Technology Minister Khalid Hussain Magsi added that Pakistan’s international image had improved after recent military confrontations, and the global community now viewed Pakistan as capable of defending its sovereignty.
“Terrorism that targets children can never be tolerated. Such attackers must face the full force of the law,” he said.
Other lawmakers also denounced the attack, calling it further evidence of India’s alleged role in destabilising the region. They urged the international community to respond to what they called a growing threat to regional and global peace.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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