Suicide blast kills 5 in Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan—At least three children were among five people killed when a suicide bomber targeted an army school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, the military said on Wednesday, in an attack Pakistan blamed on Indian proxies.
Around 40 students were on the bus that was headed to an army-run school and several have sustained injuries, said Yasir Iqbal, the administrator of Khuzdar district, where the incident took place.
Pakistan’s military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif swiftly released statements condemning the violence and accusing “Indian terror proxies” of involvement in the attack. They did not share evidence linking the attack to New Delhi.
India’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At least three children and two adults were killed in the attack, the army said in a statement.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 that diplomats have warned is fragile, following the most intense military action in decades in a conflict analysts and officials feared could spiral out of control.
Insurgency
Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil—a charge both capitals deny.
The latest military escalation, in which the two countries traded missiles, was sparked after India accused Pakistan of supporting militants who attacked dozens of tourists in the Indian portion of the contested region of Kashmir.
Islamabad denies any involvement.
Southwestern Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area, but smallest by population. The province of some 15 million people is home to key mining projects but has been roiled by a decades-old insurgency.
