Report by Muhammad Raiyd Qazi
On May 18, 2025, in the quiet, mountainous district of Khuzdar in Balochistan, a school bus carrying innocent children was ambushed with gunfire, killing at least four and injuring over a dozen. While Pakistan reels from the horror of this atrocity, the strategic implications demand attention beyond grief. The attack was not an isolated act of terrorism—it bears the unmistakable fingerprints of a foreign hand, namely, Indian intelligence proxies operating in the region. This was not just an attack on children; it was an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Balochistan has long been a battleground in a covert war. While Pakistani security forces have made significant strides in stabilizing the province, violent flare-ups have remained a persistent threat—particularly from the Baloch separatist factions. These groups allegedly have, over the years, received direct and indirect support from India’s intelligence agencies, a charge repeatedly presented with evidence by Islamabad in dossiers submitted to the United Nations and other international bodies.
What makes the Khuzdar school bus attack especially insidious is its symbolic and psychological nature. Targeting schoolchildren is a tactic designed not just to terrorize but to provoke outrage and instability. It is a page torn from the playbook of insurgency warfare, where civilian targets are instrumentalized to disrupt order and embarrass the state. In Balochistan, such acts are not merely rebellion—they are information warfare and psychological operations, tailored to cast doubt on Pakistan’s ability to protect its most vulnerable and to sow division within.
There is ample precedent for India’s alleged involvement in such asymmetric operations. From Kulbhushan Jadhav, the captured Indian naval officer who confessed to orchestrating sabotage in Balochistan, to intercepted communications and funding trails linked to separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), India’s strategy of bleeding Pakistan through a “thousand cuts” has shifted from rhetoric to reality. With India recently boosting its covert capabilities and deepening its engagement with regional insurgents, the Khuzdar incident must be seen as a deliberate escalation.
This attack also comes at a time of rising regional tensions. India has adopted an increasingly hardline posture under its current leadership, including the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, cross-border strikes, and sustained anti-Pakistan rhetoric. Within this broader context, stoking unrest in Balochistan is part of a larger strategy: to undermine the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), destabilize Pakistan’s internal security architecture, and deflect from domestic turmoil within India itself.
The international community must now contend with the implications. Pakistan cannot and should not shoulder the burden of this aggression alone. Allies must go beyond token condemnations and recognize this for what it is: a state-sponsored proxy war tactic targeting civilians. As terrorism evolves into hybrid warfare, the norms of sovereignty and international law must evolve with it.
For Pakistan, the response must be measured but firm. This is not only a security issue—it is a diplomatic one. Islamabad must renew its efforts to internationalize the evidence of Indian subversion and call for accountability in forums that claim to defend human rights and international peace.
Khuzdar’s tragedy is a dark reminder that the children of Pakistan are now on the frontlines of a new kind of war. The world must not look away. The world must see and the world has to see it, for justice, for stability, and much neededly for peace.
Note: Muhammad Raiyd Qazi is the Editor of the News & Affairs Network — globalnan.com
