Pakistan’s civil and military leadership on Friday squarely blamed India for the May 21 terrorist attack on a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, accusing it of sponsoring a network it termed Fitna al-Hindustan. The bombing claimed the lives of six children and injured 51 others.
Interior Secretary Captain (retd) Khurram Muhammad Agha and Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry addressed a joint press conference in Islamabad, where they condemned the “cowardly attack on innocent lives” and vowed retaliation.
“Our response will be decisive. They will not succeed,” said Captain Agha. He added that the incident was not an isolated act of terror but a calculated strike on “Pakistan’s traditions and educational values.”
The interior secretary stated that initial investigations point to ‘’Fitna al-Hindustan’’ being responsible for the bombing, accusing India of changing tactics after military failures in the region.
“After the failure of Operation Sindoor, India instructed its proxies to carry out attacks in Balochistan,” Agha said, adding that soft targets such as schoolchildren were now being deliberately chosen to spread fear.
He added that Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the Balochistan government, is conducting a comprehensive review of the incident, and pledged full support to the victims' families.
DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry reiterated that India has been involved in state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan for over two decades.
“In 2009, the Government of Pakistan presented evidence to the Indian Prime Minister in Sharm El Sheikh. In 2015 and again in 2019, dossiers were submitted to the United Nations,” he said.
He cited the case of Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav and recent terrorist confessions as part of a consistent pattern of Indian involvement.
“This is what happened on May 21 on the orders of Hindustan, done by the terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.
