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Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Defence Minister calls BLA and TTP Indian proxies
Listen to article Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has termed two major terrorist groups operating in Pakistan - proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as "Indian proxies". Speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath' late on Wednesday, he asserted that Islamabad would present 'complete evidence' of New Delhi's alleged involvement in the Khuzdar blast that killed at least six people — including three children — and injured more than 40, many of them female students. The suspected bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school bus as it drove past Zero Point near Rakhshan Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said, adding that the bus was ferrying students to the Army Public School situated within the Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle was rigged with more than 30 kilograms of explosives, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that 'three innocent children and two adults have embraced Shahadat' and multiple children have sustained injuries in the 'cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan. 'The BLA and TTP are being financed and directed by India. They have nothing to do with nationalism or religion,' Asif said. 'We will corroborate everything we have claimed.' Asif described the attack as an assault on non-combatants and said 'Pakistan will strike with full force' against those responsible. He linked the BLA directly to India, saying its leadership operated from New Delhi. The minister also criticised India for rejecting Pakistan's call for a joint investigation into last month's Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which left 26 dead. 'India, without any proof, blamed us. But we have evidence linking India to the BLA and to violence inside Pakistan,' he said. Earlier, ISPR had said that India has unleashed its proxies to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa through such heinous and cowardly acts after miserably failing on the battlefield. "Having failed in the Operation Bunnianum Marsoos and being hunted by military and law enforcement agencies, these Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians," added the ISPR. "Use of terrorism as a state policy by Indian political government is abhorrent and reflective of their low morality and disregard for basic human norms," said the ISPR in a statement. The military further added that planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian-sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice and the heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world. "Pakistan Armed Forces with support of brave Pakistani nation stand united to uproot Indian-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan in its all manifestations."
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Suicide bomber targets school bus in Khuzdar
Listen to article At least five people – including three schoolchildren – were martyred and several others injured in a suicide attack targeting a school bus in Khuzdar early Wednesday morning, civil and military officials said. The suspected bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the school bus as it drove past Zero Point near Rakhshan Hotel, Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti said, adding that the bus was ferrying students to the Army Public School (APS) situated within the Khuzdar cantonment. The vehicle was rigged with more than 30 kilograms of explosives, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad. The military's media wing stated that "three innocent children and two adults have embraced Shahadat" and multiple children have sustained injuries in the "cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan". The ISPR added that India has unleashed its proxies to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa through such heinous and cowardly acts after miserably failing on the battlefield. Soon after the deadly attack, security forces threw a cordon around the area and launched an investigation. Security was tightened in and around Khuzdar following the bombing, with checkpoints established and patrols intensified to prevent further attacks. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti revealed that the intelligence agencies had prior warnings of a proxy strike being plotted by hostile forces. "We could not have imagined such brutality, where innocent schoolchildren would be targeted," he told the media at a hurriedly called presser. "This is the true face of our enemies." Indian proxies are behind this atrocity, the chief minister said, adding that Afghanistan's territory was being used as a launch pad for such attacks aimed at destabilising Balochistan. Balochistan has been in the grip of a deadly separatist insurgency since the killing of Baloch chieftain Nawab Akbar Bugti in a security operation in 2006. The groups involved in the insurgency are being supported, trained, and bankrolled by the India spy agency RAW. "Having failed in the Operation Bunnianum Marsoos and being hunted by military and law enforcement agencies, these Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians," added the ISPR. "Use of terrorism as a state policy by Indian political government is abhorrent and reflective of their low morality and disregard for basic human norms," it added. The military further added that planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian-sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice and the heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world. "Pakistan Armed Forces with support of brave Pakistani nation stand united to uproot Indian-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan in its all manifestations." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir rushed to Quetta on an emergency visit where they received a briefing on the Khuzdar attack, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. The premier condemned the terrorist attack and expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of innocent children and their teachers. He extended his condolences to the bereaved families and directed authorities to identify and hold those responsible accountable. President Asif Zardari also denounced the attack as a human rights violation and extended condolences to the bereaved families. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that "the deliberate targeting of schoolchildren - innocent noncombatants in every sense - is a red line that must never be crossed. This act violates the most basic tenets of humanity and international humanitarian law," it said in a statement. "The state has an obligation to uphold law and order by strengthening civilian institutions and the rule of law - not through indiscriminate kinetic responses," it added while calling for the immediate identification and prosecution of the perpetrators and their enablers through lawful means. The HRCP also stressed the urgent need for a meaningful political dialogue to address the deep-rooted problems of representation, governance, and resource distribution in Balochistan. Condemnations also poured in from different countries. The United States denounced the murder of innocent children "beyond comprehension." In a statement shared on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the US Embassy in Islamabad expressed deep sorrow over the attack and extended solidarity with the victims and their families. "No child should ever fear going to school," US Chargé d'Affaires Natalie Baker was reported as saying in the statement. "We stand with those in Pakistan working to end this violence." Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong also offered "deepest condolences" to the victims' families and sincere sympathy to the injured. "We strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express our deepest condolences to the deceased and sincere sympathy to the injured and the bereaved families," the envoy said at a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. "China opposes all forms of terrorism and will continue to firmly support Pakistan in advancing counter-terrorism operations, maintaining social stability, and protecting the safety of the people." Officials say that India has been frustrated after its defeats on the military and diplomatic fronts during the recent confrontation with Pakistan – and now it has activated its proxy terrorists to unleash chaos in the country. India considers itself the regional hegemon, but DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a TV interview earlier this week that: "Pakistan will never bow down to Indian hegemony ... the sooner they [India] realise this, the better it will be for regional and global peace." (With additional input from News Desk)
Russia Today
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
India rejects Pakistani claims over deadly blasts
India has rejected allegations by Pakistan that it was involved in a suicide bomb blast in Balochistan province which reportedly killed five people, including three children. New Delhi called the claims 'baseless,' describing them as an attempt to divert attention from Pakistan's own reputation as a hub of terrorism. 'India rejects the baseless allegations made by Pakistan regarding Indian involvement with the incident in Khuzdar earlier today,' Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswa said. 'India condoles the loss of lives in all such incidents. However, in order to divert attention from its reputation as the global epicenter of terrorism and to hide its own gross failings, it has become second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues.' A bus carrying students was targeted in a blast in Balochistan's Khuzdar district on Wednesday morning, leaving three children among five dead, while several others were injured, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces. ❗️"Suicide Blast" Hits School Bus in #Balochistan - Reports of Four Children Dead & Dozens of People InjuredUnverified from #Khuzdar 📹 The ISPR alleged that India is utilizing proxy groups as a means to instigate terrorism in Pakistan. 'Having failed in the Operation Bunnianum Marsoos and being hunted by military and law enforcement agencies, these Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians,' the statement said. The ISPR was referring to the military operation it launched against India earlier this month in response to India's Operation Sindoor, which included targeting what New Delhi called 'terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.' The incident in Khuzdar is the latest in a series of events that have strained relations between India and Pakistan. The South Asian neighbors engaged in major hostilities after India launched strikes on suspected terrorist facilities in Pakistan-controlled territory on May 7, in response to a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April. After four days of intense fighting, New Delhi and Islamabad agree to a ceasefire. India has long maintained that Pakistan harbors and supports terrorist groups, and has called on the international community to take action. Pakistan has denied the allegations and has instead accused India of supporting terrorist and separatists movements inside its territory, including in Balochistan. The province, bordered by Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the northwest, and the Arabian Sea to the south, has seen decades of violence, including several insurgencies, ever since Pakistan and India gained independence from Britain in 1947. In March, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) seized the Jaffar Express, a passenger train in Pakistan's Balochistan province, on Tuesday, taking over 400 passengers hostage. Officials in Islamabad have suggested that the handlers of the attack were linked to Afghanistan while simultaneously blaming India for 'sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan' a claim New Delhi rejected.
