New Delhi: India on Wednesday dismissed Pakistan's allegations of Indian involvement in the bombing of a school bus in Balochistan's Khuzdar region, calling them "baseless". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asserted that Pakistan routinely blames India for its internal issues as a distraction from its own reputation as the "global epicenter" of terrorism.
Five people, including three children and two adults, died, and around 38 more were injured, many of them critically, in a blast targeting a bus carrying children of Army Public School (APS) in Balochistan’s Khuzdar area on the Zero Line at the Karachi-Quetta Highway on Wednesday.
"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," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries on the allegations made by Pakistan.
"However, in order to divert attention from its reputation as the global epicentre 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," Jaiswal added.
The suspected IED blast targeted an APS school bus carrying dozens of children, completely destroying the vehicle and raising fears of more casualties.
Local authorities in Khuzdar confirmed the attack, reporting that the injured have been transported to Central Military Hospital (CMH) for treatment. Security forces have sealed off the area to gather evidence.
Rather than prioritising relief efforts and launching a search for those responsible, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti and Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) swiftly shifted blame to India in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Analysts reckon that Pakistan, currently reeling from massive defeat and decisive Indian strikes conducted during Operation Sindoor, is still making no efforts to focus its energies on setting its own house in order.
Over the last many decades, several international organisations have documented how selective but extremely opaque and high-handed use of force by Pakistani authorities has affected civilian populations on a large scale in the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, where locals are routinely abducted and unlawfully killed.
The current and past armed conflicts in the northwest of Pakistan have displaced millions, as the people of Balochistan, amongst other provinces, have been waging for decades a bitter and brave struggle against their daily abuse and torture.
(with inputs from agencies)