At least five people have been killed in a blast targeting a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province, the military said.
Yasir Iqbal Dashti, a government official in Khuzdar, said at least 38 people were wounded in the attack on Wednesday.
“The school bus belonged to Army Public School as it was picking children in the morning when it was attacked by the suicide bomber.
Pakistan’s military, in a statement, condemned the violence and accused “Indian terror proxies” of involvement in the attack. It did not share evidence to support the claim.
There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.
At least three children and two adults were killed in the attack, the army said in a statement.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack near Khuzdar’s Zero Point area and expressed “deep sorrow and grief” over those killed.
“The enemy attacked innocent children with barbarity. The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country,” he said in a statement.
Authorities said that the death toll could increase due to the severity of the explosion.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan province, which is rich in minerals and natural resources, has been home to a decades-long conflict between the government and ethnic Baloch separatists, who demand secession from Pakistan.
Wednesday’s attack came days after a car bombing killed four people near a market in Qillah Abdullah, also in Balochistan.
