Blast leaves five people dead, including children in SW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, May 21 (KUNA) - At least five people, including three children, were killed while several others received injuries in a blast targeting a bus carrying students in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, said the military on Wednesday.
A statement by Pakistan military's media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that three children were among five dead, while several others were injured when a bus carrying students was targeted in a blast in Balochistan's Khuzdar district. The military accused India of orchestrating the attack, saying, "In yet another cowardly and ghastly attack planned and orchestrated by the terrorist state of India and executed by its proxies in Balochistan, innocent school-going children's bus was targeted today in Khuzdar." It further said, "After having miserably failed in the battlefield, through these most heinous and cowardly such like acts, Indian proxies have been unleashed to spread terror and unrest in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)." "Planners, abettors and executors of this cowardly Indian sponsored attack will be hunted down and brought to justice, and the heinous face of India will be exposed in front of the entire world," the military vowed. Pakistan Armed Forces, with the support of the brave Pakistani nation, stand "united to uproot Indian sponsored terrorism from Pakistan in all its manifestations", the statement concluded.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the school bus and expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of innocent children and their teachers in the incident, said the PM Office. The prime minister extended his condolences to the families of the victims and directed authorities to promptly identify and hold those responsible accountable. He also instructed that the injured receive immediate and priority medical treatment. The blast comes at a time when Pakistan has witnessed a rise in terror attacks, especially in KPK and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan. (end) sbk.aa