On May 21, 2025, a suicide car bomber targeted a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, resulting in the deaths of five individuals, including at least three children, and injuring 38 others. The bus, carrying approximately 40 students to an army-run school, was struck near the Zero Point area.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack; however, suspicion falls on Baloch separatist factions, notably the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has a history of similar attacks in the region.
Pakistani authorities have condemned the attack, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi describing it as an act of "sheer barbarism" and vowing that the perpetrators will face justice. The military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have accused Indian-backed proxies of orchestrating the bombing, though no evidence has been publicly presented to support this claim.
Balochistan, despite being Pakistan's largest province by area, remains sparsely populated and has long been a hotspot for insurgent activity. The region's ethnic Baloch population has expressed grievances over political and economic marginalization, leading to a protracted insurgency. While attacks on schoolchildren are rare in Balochistan, Pakistan has experienced similar tragedies in the past, including the 2014 Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar that resulted in 154 deaths.
The international community has yet to respond to the attack. Authorities in Pakistan have pledged to enhance security measures and bring those responsible to justice.
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