<p>Quetta: At least five people, including three children, were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack on a school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday.</p><p>The incident occurred in the Khuzdar district when a bus carrying schoolchildren was targeted, the army said in a statement.</p><p>Calling it a "cowardly" and "ghastly" attack, the army said three children and two adults were killed and multiple other children sustained injuries.</p><p>In a statement on X, the Interior Ministry said the blast was allegedly carried out through a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), <em>The Express Tribune</em> newspaper reported.</p><p>Khuzdar Deputy Commissioner Yasir said that 38 people were injured in the blast, which occurred near the Zero Point area, the Dawn newspaper reported.</p><p>After the attack, law enforcement agency personnel reached the site to collect evidence for an investigation, Yasir said, adding that preliminary findings indicated that the attack was a suicide blast.</p><p>The bodies and those injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, from where those with serious injuries will be referred to medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi, he said.</p><p>Initial reports indicated that four children were killed in the blast.</p>.Pakistan, China agree to deepen trade, maintain close communication.<p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the killing of innocent children and their teachers, Geo News reported.</p><p>He also instructed authorities to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.</p><p>President Asif Ali Zardari also strongly condemned the attack as a human rights violation and extended condolences to the families of the victims. </p><p>Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the explosion and said, "The beasts who target innocent children do not deserve any leniency."</p><p>No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.</p><p>Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC (China–Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects.</p><p>The province has been facing unrest for about two decades due to allegations by the local ethnic Baloch groups and parties that the federal government was exploiting its mineral wealth.</p><p>Following the attack, provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti vowed to not only expose every terrorist operating in the province, but also “eradicate them completely”, the report said.</p><p>In a statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also condemned the attack.</p><p>"Targeting innocent children is an extremely shameful and cowardly act," said Gandapur. “We stand in complete solidarity with the grieving families, and no words of condemnation are enough for such a horrific incident," he added.</p>
<p>Quetta: At least five people, including three children, were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack on a school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday.</p><p>The incident occurred in the Khuzdar district when a bus carrying schoolchildren was targeted, the army said in a statement.</p><p>Calling it a "cowardly" and "ghastly" attack, the army said three children and two adults were killed and multiple other children sustained injuries.</p><p>In a statement on X, the Interior Ministry said the blast was allegedly carried out through a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), <em>The Express Tribune</em> newspaper reported.</p><p>Khuzdar Deputy Commissioner Yasir said that 38 people were injured in the blast, which occurred near the Zero Point area, the Dawn newspaper reported.</p><p>After the attack, law enforcement agency personnel reached the site to collect evidence for an investigation, Yasir said, adding that preliminary findings indicated that the attack was a suicide blast.</p><p>The bodies and those injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, from where those with serious injuries will be referred to medical facilities in Quetta and Karachi, he said.</p><p>Initial reports indicated that four children were killed in the blast.</p>.Pakistan, China agree to deepen trade, maintain close communication.<p>Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the killing of innocent children and their teachers, Geo News reported.</p><p>He also instructed authorities to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.</p><p>President Asif Ali Zardari also strongly condemned the attack as a human rights violation and extended condolences to the families of the victims. </p><p>Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the explosion and said, "The beasts who target innocent children do not deserve any leniency."</p><p>No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.</p><p>Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC (China–Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects.</p><p>The province has been facing unrest for about two decades due to allegations by the local ethnic Baloch groups and parties that the federal government was exploiting its mineral wealth.</p><p>Following the attack, provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti vowed to not only expose every terrorist operating in the province, but also “eradicate them completely”, the report said.</p><p>In a statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also condemned the attack.</p><p>"Targeting innocent children is an extremely shameful and cowardly act," said Gandapur. “We stand in complete solidarity with the grieving families, and no words of condemnation are enough for such a horrific incident," he added.</p>