PM Shehbaz, field marshal vow decisive end to India-backed terrorism after Khuzdar blast

• Pakistan demands int'l attention to "India’s targeting of children".
• Use of terrorism as tool of foreign policy must be confronted: PM.
• Asif says Pakistan to soon present evidence of India’s involvement.

Hours after explosion that killed five, including three children, in Khuzdar, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir expressed resolve that time has come for Pakistan to show unwavering national resolve, similar to that demonstrated against Indian aggression, to eliminate foreign-sponsored terrorism and bring the fight to a decisive conclusion.

"Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement agencies will relentlessly pursue all those involved in this barbaric act," the prime minister was quoted as saying in the official statement during his day-long visit to Quetta to review the law-and-order situation following the terror attack.

A powerful explosion near Zero Point in Balochistan's Khuzdar targeted a school bus, martyring five, including three students, and injuring dozens of others, drawing condemnations from across the country as well as the international community.

Terrorists targeted the school bus as it was heading towards the educational institute with more than 40 students on board in the district of Balochistan, which is among the worst terror-hit provinces.

Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told reporters that the five martyred, including three children, the bus driver, and his assistant, while those critically injured were being transported via air to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Quetta. Khuzdar's deputy commissioner said that more than 30 individuals sustained injuries in the blast.

Separately, fourteen individuals injured in the terrorist attack were transferred to CMH Quetta. Among them are a woman, a man, and twelve children. The CMH administration has said that some of the injured are in critical condition.

The government has said that Indian-backed militants carried out the attack, coming almost two weeks after the two sides settled a ceasefire to end their most serious conflict in decades.

Following the attack, the prime minister departed for Quetta to meet the injured children and other victims of this horrific attack. He was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.

Chief Minister Balochistan and Commander Quetta Corps briefed the visitors about the dastardly incident which led to martyrdom of three innocent children and two soldiers along with 53 injured including 39 innocent children of which 8 are critical.

According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the school bus carrying innocent children was targeted by "Indian-sponsored proxies [Fitna Al Hindustan] which the world has largely come to know as epicentre of instability in the region".

"Sequel to gross failure to intimidate Pakistan through overt military means, dastardly terrorist incidents are being orchestrated through their proxies at an intensified scale in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, deliberately targeting civilians in a futile attempt to destabilise the Pakistan," it said.

The visitors seeing the badly wounded and critically injured children expressed that such a diabolical act of terrorism through these Indian sponsored proxies is a "shameful and despicable act", it said.

These terrorist groups — masquerading under ethnic pretenses — are not only being exploited by India as instruments of state policy, but also stand as a stain on the honour and values of the Baloch and Pashtun people, who have long rejected violence and extremism, the statement added.

“India’s reliance on such morally indefensible tactics, particularly the deliberate targeting of children, demands urgent attention from the international community. The use of terrorism as a tool of foreign policy must be unequivocally condemned and confronted,” read the statement.

Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement agencies will relentlessly pursue all those involved in this barbaric act.

"The architects, abettors, and enablers of this crime will be held accountable and brought to justice and the truth about India’s cunning role, a real perpetrator of terrorism but feigns as a victim, stands exposed before the world," it concluded. 

Separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — while speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath' castigated India for using "proxy groups to fuel violence in Pakistan".

He said that Indian was sponsoring terrorist outfits like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out bloodshed in the country.

The minister further said that Pakistan would soon present evidence to support its claims about India’s involvement in terrorism. "We will prove what we are saying about the Khuzdar incident," he added.

Rising terrorism

Earlier, The News quoting intelligence sources reported that India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has activated its proxies in Balochistan to fuel violence and terrorism.

Following the failure of a previous false flag operation in Pahalgam, RAW is allegedly using groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Fitna-ul-Khawarij, as well as illegal Afghan nationals, to carry out attacks in Gwadar, Quetta, and Khuzdar.

Pakistan has witnessed surge in terror incidents since Taliban rulers returned to Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

However, the first quarter of 2025 saw some promising trends in the security landscape of Pakistan, with the fatalities of militants and insurgents outnumbering the cumulative losses of civilians and security forces personnel.

Its key findings, issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) revealed notably fewer fatal losses among civilians and security forces personnel compared to the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 and a nearly 13% reduction in overall violence, The News reported.

Despite progress, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remain epicentres of violence, accounting for 98% of all fatalities, with attacks growing bolder and militant tactics evolving, including the unprecedented hijacking of the Jaffar Express.

Projections warn of over 3,600 fatalities by year-end if current trends persist, potentially making 2025 one of Pakistan’s deadliest years.

Individually, Balochistan suffered 35% of all fatalities in the period under review, and compared to last quarter, it recorded an alarming 15% surge in violence. The comparison disregards the surge recorded in other provinces/ regions as the number of fatalities remains very low.