The death toll in the horrific terrorist attack on a school bus in Khuzdar has climbed to eight after two more injured students martyred during treatment, security and hospital sources confirmed on Sunday.
The attack, which took place a few days ago, has left over 30 people injured, including numerous schoolchildren.
According to security officials, the latest victims, whose identities have been confirmed as student Sheema Ibrahim and student Muskan embraced martyrdom while undergoing treatment in Quetta.
Security sources revealed that a total of eight schoolchildren have now been martyred in the blast, with over 30 others injured, several of them critically.
Among the martyrs are seven girls and one boy, all of whom were students of various grades.
The initial blast, attributed to Indian-sponsored terrorists operating through proxies in Balochistan, targeted a school bus carrying children in the Khuzdar area.
On the day of the attack, three students—Sania Soomro (12), Hafza Kausar (12), and Aisha Saleem (16)—were among the first to be martyred.
Security sources reiterated that the attack was meticulously planned in India and executed by Indian-backed terrorist outfits, including Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), also referred to as Fitnat-ul-Hindustan, as part of a larger campaign to destabilise Pakistan.
Authorities have vowed that those responsible for the bloodshed will be held accountable.
In a solemn ceremony in Khuzdar, the funeral prayers for Sheema, a class six student at APS who was also martyred in the attack, were held amid deep mourning.
Sheema was laid to rest at the Khera Dori cemetery with the national flag draped over her coffin. The funeral was attended by civil officers, political leaders, and social figures, including Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar Sourab and Assistant Commissioner Khuzdar, reflecting the widespread grief over the tragedy.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other federal officials have condemned the attack in the strongest terms. In a recent visit to Quetta, the Prime Minister met with families of the victims and the injured children at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), expressing the government’s resolve to combat terrorism decisively.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Khuzdar has registered a case under the Anti-Terrorism Act, including charges of murder and attempted murder, as investigations continue into the incident.
“India’s hand behind the tragedy'
According to security officials, the attack was orchestrated from across the border. “The cowardly bombing in Khuzdar was not an isolated incident but a planned act of terrorism, executed through Indian-backed proxies in Balochistan,” a senior security official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
The official added, “This act of brutality is yet another example of India’s ongoing hybrid warfare against Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The blood of these innocent children will not go in vain — Fitna-ul-Hindustan and its handlers will be held accountable.”
National outrage and calls for action
The attack has drawn widespread condemnation from civil society, political leadership, and the armed forces. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier identified the involvement of an Indian-backed group, Fitnat-ul-Hind, in the bombing. He visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta along with Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir to meet the injured and their families, vowing that justice would be served.
“The attack on innocent schoolchildren is an attack on Pakistan’s future,” the Prime Minister said in a press briefing. “We will go to every length to dismantle the terror networks that threaten our children and our homeland.”
