Bomb Blast Targets School Bus in Pakistan, Killing Five

TDT | Manama

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At least five people, including three children, were killed and dozens injured after a school bus was targeted in a bomb blast early Monday morning in Pakistan’s southwest.

According to police, the explosion occurred around 7:40 a.m. local time near the remote town of Khuzdar. The bus was carrying approximately 40 schoolchildren when the device detonated. Images shared on social media show the scorched remains of the bus, with schoolbags and personal items scattered around the site.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the region has long been a center of separatist violence, political unrest, and human rights controversies.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the bombing, describing it as “sheer barbarism” and calling the perpetrators “beasts who target children.” He said the act was intended to destabilize the country and vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice.

Pakistan’s military accused India and its alleged proxies in the area of being behind the attack—though no public evidence has been provided to support the claim. The accusations come amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, following a two-week-long conflict sparked by an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. India responded with military strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, escalating fears of broader conflict.

Violence in the southwest has been intensifying. Earlier in March, at least 25 people, including 21 civilians and 4 military personnel, were killed in a train station siege in a remote district. That attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the UK, and the United States. Pakistan has previously accused the BLA of being backed by India—a claim the group denies.

Human rights organizations and local activists have repeatedly accused Pakistan’s security forces of committing abuses in the region, including the forced disappearance of thousands of people over the past two decades.

The bombing of a school bus has once again drawn attention to the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis in Pakistan’s southwest, with children and civilians caught in the crossfire of a complex and deadly conflict.