ISLAMABAD: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday categorically stated that the recent deadly attack on a school bus in Khuzdar was an act of Indian state-sponsored terrorism and had nothing to do with Baloch identity.
Speaking at a joint press conference here alongside Interior Secretary Capt Khurram Muhammad Agha (retired), the military spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding stance that India has been orchestrating terror activities inside Pakistan.
The tragic incident occurred on May 21 when a bomb targeted a school bus carrying children to the Army Public School in Khuzdar Cantonment.
The blast, which took place near Zero Point on the Quetta-Karachi Highway, claimed six lives— three of them students— and injured over 40 others.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said initial findings confirmed the attack followed a familiar pattern of cross-border terrorism facilitated by Indian intelligence agencies. “This was not an act of local resistance or related to Baloch identity. It was pure Indian provocation.”
He alleged that the Indian social media ecosystem affiliated with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) had posted hints of the attack before it occurred— similar to what was observed before the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in March and the attempted assassination of the Chinese envoy in Karachi last October.
He also linked the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and other banned groups under the umbrella term Fitnah al Hindustan to New Delhi’s intelligence apparatus. “We have irrefutable evidence,” he stated, pointing out that India’s proxy groups had issued statements pledging to serve as the “military arm” of India on Pakistan’s western front in exchange for political and military support.
Interior Secretary Agha condemned the school bus bombing as an attack on Pakistan’s values and future. “This was an attack on our education, on our children, and on the very fabric of our society.” He said that the Indian-backed terror networks, having failed against hard targets, have now shifted to targeting civilians and soft infrastructure, particularly in Balochistan.
Both officials underlined that this recent incident is part of a broader Indian campaign to destabilise Pakistan through non-state actors, especially as the state has intensified operations and border control measures.
The DG ISPR noted that over 93,000 counterterrorism operations have been conducted nationwide in the past year and a half, resulting in the elimination of more than 200 terrorists in Balochistan in the first five months of 2025 alone.
Lt Gen Chaudhry also took strong exception to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), stating that the group’s narrative has been manipulated by external actors. He urged the media to expose the links in this regard.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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