Two more students, Sheema Ibrahim and Muskan, embraced martyrdom while receiving treatment in Quetta, raising the number of students martyred in the recent terrorist attack on a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, to eight, according to security sources. The total death toll has risen to 10.
Security officials confirmed that among those martyred are seven female students and one male student.
On the day of the suicide bombing, Sania Soomro (Grade 6), Hafsa Kausar (Grade 7), and Ayesha Saleem (Grade 10) were among the first to embrace martyrdom.
Later, Haider, Malaika, and Sehr Saleem also succumbed to their injuries while receiving medical treatment, security officials said.
According to intelligence sources, the attack was planned and sponsored by the terrorist state of India.
“The blood of these innocent children will not go unavenged. Those behind this — including the Indian handlers and their local agents — will be held accountable,” security officials stated.
During a press briefing in Rawalpindi on Friday DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry added that the attack was not just on a school bus, but an attack on our values, education, and the fabric of our society. “Our response will be decisive. They will not succeed,” said the interior secretary.
DG ISPR said that India-sponsored attackers have no humanity, morality, and Baloch or Pakistani identity, adding that India has been involved in state-sponsored terrorism for 20 years, destabilising regional peace. He pointed out that in 2009, Pakistan had presented a dossier to the United Nations with evidence of India’s involvement in terrorist activities in Balochistan.
He stressed that the Khuzdar incident was deeply tragic, carried out under India’s orders, and that Fitna al-Hindustan is targeting innocent people, including children and travellers.
The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Khuzdar. In a statement, the Council extended its deepest condolences to the victims’ families, the government of Pakistan, and the Pakistani people, while also wishing a swift recovery for the injured.
The Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all forms poses a severe threat to international peace and security. It called for the accountability of the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, and sponsors of such attacks, urging states to cooperate with Pakistan in bringing the responsible parties to justice.
