Attack in Balochistan: school bus and suicide bomber
On the morning of 21 May 2025, a suicide car bomber rammed an explosive‑laden vehicle into a school bus near the city of Khuzdar in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan. The bus was transporting students of a military‑run school when the attacker detonated the explosives, killing five people, including three students. Initial reports indicated around 38 to 40 people were wounded, many of them children.
The country’s military condemned the attack, describing it as a “cowardly and ghastly” act.
Victims and immediate aftermath
Officials said the victims included three students and two adults (one a bus driver or assistant) aboard the bus when the explosion occurred near the Zero Point area on the outskirts of Khuzdar. Rescue services arrived on site and transported the wounded to hospitals; authorities warned the death toll could rise due to critically injured children. The bus was affiliated with an Army Public School; the target’s link to a military‑run institution adds to the broader context of attacks in Balochistan.
Context: insurgency, tensions and accusations
Balochistan has long been the scene of a separatist insurgency, with groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) active in the region. In the hours after the bombing, the Pakistani military and government officials accused India of orchestrating the attack via proxy militants—assertions that India firmly rejected as “baseless”.
Implications and security concerns
The targeting of a school bus carrying children, especially one associated with the military, marks a troubling escalation in militant tactics in the region. For Pakistan’s government and security forces, the incident underscores persistent vulnerability of civilian targets, particularly in Balochistan’s sparsely populated but conflict‑prone landscape. Internationally, the attack may feed into diplomatic tensions between Pakistan and India, given the allegations from Islamabad blaming Indian involvement—though no independent proof has been publicly disclosed.
Looking ahead: response and investigation
Authorities in Pakistan have pledged to pursue the “planners, abettors and executors” of the attack.
Investigators are working to determine how the bomber breached security, how the bus was vulnerable, and whether the attack will trigger a stronger counter‑insurgency response in Balochistan.
Parents, educators and security analysts alike will look at the incident as a warning about the risk to children and educational institutions in conflict zones.
