India rejects Pakistan’s allegations about bomb attack in Balochistan

Balochistan, rich in resources but sparsely populated, faces a long-running insurgency as militants demand more autonomy and control over local resources.

Updated on: May 21, 2025, 20:59:31 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

India on Wednesday rejected the Pakistani military’s “baseless allegations” about Indian involvement in the bombing of a school bus in Balochistan, and said it has become second nature for the neighbouring country to make such claims because of its reputation as an epicentre of terrorism.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswa. (PTI File)

A powerful blast that hit the school bus in Khuzdar killed six people, including four students, and injured dozens, Balochistan chief minister Sarfaraz Bugti told reporters.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal strongly refuted the “baseless allegations” by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media arm, that the attack was “planned and orchestrated by [the] terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies”.

While dismissing Pakistan’s claim regarding Indian involvement in the incident, Jaiswal said: “India condoles the loss of lives in all such incidents.”

He added, “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 said.

The ISPR did not provide any evidence to support its claim of Indian involvement in the attack. It also claimed that “Indian proxies have been unleashed” to spread unrest in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s most resource-rich but least populous province, has been affected by a long-running insurgency. Most of the local militant groups have taken up arms to press for a greater say in the utilisation of natural resources and to seek autonomy.

The bombing came a little more than 10 days after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to end military actions after four days of clashes using drones, missiles and long-range weapons. The clashes followed Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.