Pakistan: Bomb blast targets school bus in Balochistan, 3 children die

The bus was carrying around 40 school children when it exploded at about 07:40 local time (02:40 GMT) just outside the remote town of Khuzdar, police told the BBC.

The blast reportedly left several people injured.

Several pictures and videos are going viral online showing the wreckage of the damaged bus.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

According to reports, the bus was heading to an army-run school.

The injured people were rushed to CMH Khuzdar for emergency medical treatment.

Security personnel and law enforcers have rushed to the spot.

Pakistani PM Condemns Attack

Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, Dunya News reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the blast.

The Minister wrote on X, "The beasts who target innocent children do not deserve any concessions."

The Minister said: "The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country."

"Every conspiracy will be foiled with the unity of the nation. We stand with the grieving families of the deceased children," he said.

The incident occurred at a time when Pakistan and India are emerging from a deadly two-week conflict that was triggered by the killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, by Islamabad-backed terrorists in Pahalgam town of Jammu and Kashmir.

India conducted Operation Sindoor and targeted nine terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK in response to the terror attack.

Balochistan's Security Situation

Balochistan has witnessed insurgency for several years now.

The security situation in Balochistan has spiked in recent times.

The insurgents have increased the intensity of their attack in the past few months.

Several groups, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, have been launching attacks in the area.

Pak Army Chief Asim Munir Promoted To Field Marshal Rank

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir has been promoted to the topmost military rank of Field Marshal, which is an honour awarded only on the rarest of occasions and on achieving a stellar operational record in the armed forces.

Pakistan's Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has 'approved' a proposal to promote the army chief, media reports said.

General Asim Munir's inflammatory and shockingly communal speech is widely considered the trigger for the religiously motivated Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists, were shot dead in India for failing to pledge their allegiance to Islam.

"Our forefathers believed that we were different from Hindus in every possible aspect of life. Our religion is different. Our customs are different. Our traditions are different. Our thoughts are different. Our ambitions are different... That was the foundation of the two-nation theory. It was laid on the belief that we are two nations, not one,"General Munir had said in his infamous speech.

"You must tell this to your children so that they never forget the story of Pakistan," he had said and added, "Our forefathers made immense sacrifices, and we too, have sacrificed a lot for the creation of this country... My dear brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters, please do not forget this story."

Terror outfit Resistance Front, an offshoot of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, carried out the Pahalgam attack and was believed to be backed by Pakistan.