Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has emphatically reiterated ‘Indian state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan,’ which, he affirmed, has plagued the nation since its inception and was culpable for the recent vicious attack in Balochistan’s Khuzdar.
On May 21, a horrific incident unfolded as a bomb targeted a school bus near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the bustling Quetta-Karachi highway. This tragic event resulted in the loss of at least six lives, including three young students, and left over 40 others injured, most of whom were innocent students. The bus was on its journey to safely drop the children at the Army Public School nestled in the Khuzdar Cantonment.
On Thursday, during the authoritative 270th Corps Commander Conference (CCC), the top echelon of the army declared India’s suspected involvement in this incident. They solemnly vowed that the armed forces would act decisively to ensure the sanctity and peace of the nation would not fall victim to ‘externally-sponsored terrorism.’
Lt Gen Chaudhry was addressing a press conference in Islamabad today alongside the Interior Secretary, Captain (retd) Khurram Muhammad Agha.
“India was planning and instructing terrorist activities taking place in Pakistan, the funding for which is also provided by India,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said. “The attack in Balochistan had nothing to do with the Baloch identity, rather it was just India’s provocation.”
The DG ISPR highlighted that the attack on the Chinese envoy in Karachi in Oct 2024 also had Indian backing. “The Indian social media accounts affiliated with the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) posted about the attack beforehand.”
He added that the same thing happened during the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train in March when more than 400 passengers were taken hostage by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists.
“Before the Jaffer Express incident occurred, they [the social media accounts] were asking followers to ‘keep an eye on Pakistan today and tomorrow’.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry pointed out that the Indian media was “celebrating” the attack in Khuzdar.
“These are all Indian accounts, affiliated with RAW [and] posting for BLA and Fitnah al Hindustan, he said, referring to the government-designated term for all terror outfits in Balochistan. “What kind of a country celebrates acts of terrorism?”
The DG ISPR also maintained that New Delhi had been involved in perpetrating terrorism across the country “since the inception of Pakistan.”
“In 2009, the Pakistani government handed a dossier containing irrefutable evidence [of India’s involvement in terror attacks across Pakistan] to the Indian prime minister,” he said. “The publicly disclosed documents released in 2010 are part of history. In 2016, the world saw another ugly face of India-sponsored terrorism in Balochistan in the form of [Indian spy] Kulbushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer,” he said.
Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, in a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan’s Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.
“Then in [2020], a dossier full of evidence was presented to the United Nations. Very recently, the international media has seen confessions and acknowledgement of multiple surrendered terrorists of this Fitnah al Hindustan,” he said.
Interior Secretary Agha also said that India was behind the terrorist incident in Khuzdar on May 21.
“In the aftermath of the despicable terrorist attack on a school bus in Khuzdar in the early morning of May 21, this cowardly attack targeted innocent children, our future, resulting in the tragic loss of six children and injuries to 31 others.
“Let me be unequivocal that this was not an attack on a bus alone, it was an attack on our values, our education, and the very fabric of our society,” Capt (retd) Agha said.
On behalf of the government of Pakistan, I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, we share their grief and we stand by them in this hour of immense suffering. The Ministry of Interior, in close cooperation with the provincial authorities and the law enforcement agencies, is looking into all [aspects] of this dastardly attack.”
Capt (retd) Agha said initial findings confirmed that this attack was a continuation of a broader pattern of violence sponsored by India through Fitnah al Hindustan, operating under the tutelage and intelligence of the Indian intelligence agency, RAW [Research and Analysis Wing].
“Having miserably failed in the so-called Operation Sindoor, the terror proxies of Hindustan have been tasked to accentuate their heinous attacks of terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere. Let me be absolutely clear here, the people of Pakistan will not let them succeed.
“Pakistan and its people, particularly in Balochistan, reject this nefarious design. The state has the capacity and the will to dismantle these networks and bring the perpetrators and their handlers to justice. Such actions will have consequences.”
He said in the past couple of years, having suffered immense casualties in their attempts against hard targets, Fitnah al Hindustan has resorted to hitting soft targets, wayfarers, labourers working on development projects, infrastructure and machinery to paint a picture of loosening control of the State.
“Much against the tradition and culture of the Baloch, these terrorists have stooped so low that innocent school children have now been targeted. I assure you that the State, in collaboration with the provincial governments and the state apparatus, will defeat them.
“These Indian-sponsored terrorists have no place in Pakistan and our national discourse. We have … commitment to bring an end to this violence. Our resolve is firm and our response will be decisive. They will not succeed.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry then spoke about the Indian attacks on Pakistan on May 6 and 7, which were carried out by New Delhi after blaming Islamabad for April’s Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir and led to civilian deaths.
“Never in modern history have you seen any nation, any media celebrating the killing of children and women the way [India] is celebrating.
“This is the low moral fibre and level that the current Indian political elite has brought the society to.”