The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned a roadside bombing that struck a school bus in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least five people, including children.
The attack occurred on May 21 in the Khuzdar district, where a device detonated as the bus traveled along a highway connecting the region to Karachi. Dozens were injured, most of them schoolchildren. Authorities confirmed that at least three children and two adults were killed.
In a press statement, the Security Council described the bombing as a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” and extended condolences to the victims’ families and the Pakistani government. The Council reiterated that terrorism in all forms poses one of the gravest threats to global peace and security.
"The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan," the statement said, while also calling for a “speedy and full recovery” for the injured.
The 15-member body emphasized the need to hold those responsible accountable, urging all states to cooperate with Pakistan in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions.
An investigation is underway, said Khuzdar District Commissioner Yasir Iqbal. Local officials reported that the bus was carrying about 40 students at the time of the explosion. Emergency services quickly transported the injured to nearby hospitals.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, Pakistan’s military has accused Indian intelligence proxies of orchestrating the attack — a charge India has firmly rejected.
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.
Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other's soil - a charge both capitals deny.
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province by area, but smallest by population. The province of some 15 million people in the southwest of the country is home to key mining projects but has been roiled by a decades-old insurgency.
Wednesday's attack was reminiscent of one of the deadliest militant attacks in Pakistan's history when an attack on a military school in the northern city of Peshawar in 2014 killed more than 130 children. It was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terrorist organization.
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