New Delhi: India has firmly rejected Pakistan’s accusations linking it to a deadly blast that targeted a school bus in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday, calling the claims “baseless” and an attempt to deflect from Pakistan’s own domestic failures.
The blast, suspected to have involved a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), killed at least six people, including four children, and injured nearly 40 others. The attack has once again spotlighted the fragile security situation in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.
In response to the allegations, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a strong statement:
“India rejects the baseless allegations made by Pakistan regarding Indian involvement with the incident in Khuzdar earlier today. 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. This attempt to hoodwink the world is doomed to fail.”
Despite offering no concrete evidence, Pakistan’s military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused so-called “Indian terror proxies” of orchestrating the bombing.
The blast occurred amid heightened tensions between the two nations following a deadly terror attack in India’s Pahalgam region last month that claimed 26 lives. India held Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba responsible and responded with precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Pakistan retaliated with drone and missile attacks, which were intercepted and repelled by Indian forces.
No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s Balochistan bombing. However, suspicion is likely to fall on regional insurgent groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), both of which have carried out numerous attacks in the province in recent years.
Balochistan remains a hotbed of insurgency, with ethnic Baloch groups accusing the central government of economic exploitation, lack of autonomy, and political marginalization. The region has experienced decades of violence as separatist movements and Islamist militants continue to challenge state control.
India’s rejection of Pakistan’s claims underscores the deepening distrust between the nuclear-armed neighbors, with both sides trading accusations amid a fraught regional security climate.
