'No role in Balochistan school bus attack': India denies Pakistan's accusation

Randhir Jaiswal

India on Wednesday categorically denied Pakistan’s allegations of Indian involvement in the Khuzdar incident, calling the claims baseless.

Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the accusations, saying Pakistan uses such tactics to divert attention from its own issues. India also expressed condolences for the loss of lives in the incident.

“India rejects the baseless allegations made by Pakistan regarding Indian involvement with the incident in Khuzdar earlier today. India condoles the loss of lives in all such incidents. However, in order to divert attention from its reputation as the global epicenter of terrorism and to hide its own gross failings, it has become second nature for Pakistan to blame India for all its internal issues. This attempt to hoodwink the world is doomed to fail,” Jaiswal said in a statement.

Around 40 students were on board the bus headed to an army-run school in Khuzdar when the explosion occurred, with several sustaining injuries.  Pakistan’s military and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were quick to condemn the attack and blamed “Indian terror proxies” for the incident, though no evidence was provided to support the claim.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which echoes one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks, a 2014 assault on a military school in Peshawar that killed over 130 children.