At least eight individuals, including several schoolgirls, the bus driver, a security guard, (some sources report two soldiers were killed), and the attacker, lost their lives when a bomb targeted a school bus in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province in a suicide mission on May 21, 2025, according to local officials.
The incident took place in the Khuzdar district as the bus was collecting students for the Army Public School, stated Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a local government official. The explosion injured at least 53 people, including at least 39 children, some of whom were in critical condition.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti reported that preliminary findings indicated a “Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack” on the bus, which was transporting 46 students.
Severely injured children were airlifted from Khuzdar to Quetta, the provincial capital, for urgent medical care, Bugti announced at a news conference. He noted that further inquiries were ongoing to ascertain the specific details of the attack.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Pakistan’s military denounced what it termed a “cowardly and ghastly attack” on innocent schoolchildren. In an official release, the military accused “Indian terror proxies” of involvement, though no supporting evidence was provided.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif firmly condemned the attack, blaming it on “terrorists working under Indian patronage” and expressing condolences to the victims’ families.
The Indian government promptly denied these allegations. “This attempt to hoodwink the world is doomed to fail,” India said, dismissing Pakistan’s claims as unfounded.
The targeted bus was part of the Army Public School network, managed by Pakistan’s military for children of both civilian and military families.
Authorities cautioned that the death toll could rise due to the explosion’s intensity. Local media images depicted a burned-out bus frame at the roadside, with debris scattered in the vicinity.
Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan by area but the smallest by population, has experienced ongoing conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists calling for independence. The region, rich in minerals and natural resources, has been a focal point for insurgent activity.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Pakistan alleges is backed by India, frequently takes responsibility for attacks in the area, though India consistently refutes these claims.
This attack follows a car bombing on May 19, 2025, that killed four individuals near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan.
While separatist factions rarely target schoolchildren in Balochistan, similar incidents have occurred in other parts of Pakistan. Earlier this year, BLA militants killed 31 people, predominantly soldiers, during a train attack in Balochistan in March 2025.
Last week, the BLA announced plans for further attacks on what they described as the “Pakistani army and its collaborators,” aiming to establish “a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.”
Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported from Islamabad that Pakistan was treating the attack “very seriously,” highlighting that Pakistan and India often exchange accusations following cross-border incidents.
UNICEF released a statement condemning the “horrific” attack and extended sympathies to the victims’ families. The organization stressed that attending school should not put children’s lives at risk.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned what it described as a “brutal, unconscionable attack” in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
This incident brings to mind one of Pakistan’s deadliest terrorist attacks, when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants assaulted the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, resulting in the deaths of over 140 children.
While it is uncommon for separatists to deliberately target schoolchildren in Balochistan, Wednesday’s attack highlights escalating tensions in a region where schools run by military institutions have sometimes been attacked.
Security forces have secured the area, with investigations ongoing to identify the specifics and perpetrators of the attack.
