At least six individuals, including four children, a bus driver, and his assistant, lost their lives in a targeted bombing of a school bus in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on May 21, 2025, as confirmed by local authorities.
The incident took place in the Khuzdar district while the bus was on its way to collect students for the Army Public School, reported Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a government official in Khuzdar. The explosion injured at least 38 people, with several reported to be in critical condition.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that preliminary investigations indicated a “vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack” was responsible for the explosion on the bus transporting 46 students.
Children with severe injuries were being airlifted from Khuzdar to Quetta, the provincial capital, for urgent medical care, Bugti announced during a press briefing. He noted that further investigations were underway to clarify the specifics of the attack.
No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Pakistan’s military denounced the attack as a “cowardly and ghastly attack” on innocent schoolchildren. An official statement from the military accused “Indian terror proxies” of involvement, though no supporting evidence was provided.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack, attributing it to “terrorists working under Indian patronage” and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
The Indian government quickly dismissed these allegations. “This attempt to hoodwink the world is doomed to fail,” India responded, calling Pakistan’s claims baseless.
The bus targeted was part of the Army Public School network, which is operated by Pakistan’s military for children of both civilian and military backgrounds.
Authorities have warned that the death toll could rise due to the intensity of the explosion. Local media images depicted a burned-out bus frame along the roadside with debris scattered around.
Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan by area but the smallest by population, has been plagued by decades of conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists seeking independence. The province, rich in minerals and natural resources, has been a frequent site of insurgent activity.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan alleges receives support from India, often claims responsibility for attacks in the region, though India consistently denies these allegations.
This attack follows a car bombing on May 19, 2025, that resulted in four fatalities near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan.
While separatist groups in Balochistan seldom target schoolchildren, similar attacks have taken place elsewhere in Pakistan. Earlier this year, BLA fighters killed 33 individuals, primarily soldiers, during a train assault in Balochistan in March 2025.
Earlier this week, the BLA announced plans for more attacks on what they termed the “Pakistani army and its collaborators,” stating their goal was establishing “a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.”
Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported from Islamabad that Pakistan was treating the attack “very seriously,” noting that accusations between Pakistan and India often follow cross-border incidents.
UNICEF issued a statement condemning the “horrific” attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. The organization stressed that attending school should never endanger children’s lives.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the “brutal, unconscionable attack” in a statement released on the social media platform X.
This incident brings back memories of one of Pakistan’s deadliest terrorist attacks, when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants attacked the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, resulting in the deaths of more than 140 children.
While it is uncommon for separatists to specifically target schoolchildren in Balochistan, Wednesday’s attack highlights ongoing tensions in a region where schools operated by military establishments have at times been targeted.
Security forces have secured the area, and investigations are ongoing into the exact nature and perpetrators of the attack.
