QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the suicide attack on the Army Public School bus in Khuzdar as a cowardly, brutal, and inhumane act. The resolution described the attack as a savage assault on the future of the nation and a deliberate attempt to sabotage peace and education in Pakistan.
The resolution was jointly presented by National Party MPA Mir Rehmat Saleh Baloch and Opposition Leader Mir Younis Aziz Zehri, strongly denouncing the May 21 attack, which claimed the lives of eight innocent students and several other civilians, while leaving many injured.
“This barbaric act was not only an atrocity against unarmed children but also a malicious conspiracy targeting Pakistan’s youth, national integrity, and the pursuit of knowledge and peace,” the resolution stated. The assembly demanded immediate action from the provincial government to bring the perpetrators and their facilitators to justice.
During the debate, Opposition Leader Younis Aziz Zehri urged authorities to arrest those behind the attack on the schoolchildren and Levies personnel. He criticised the prime minister’s brief visit to the province, calling it inadequate in the wake of such a grave tragedy.
Engineer Zamrak Khan Achakzai of the Awami National Party lamented the lack of implementation of the National Action Plan across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and stressed that peace, not weapons, was the real solution. He called for an in-camera briefing on law and order.
Kulsoom Baloch of the National Party said the attack exposed the absence of state writ and the worsening security situation across the province. Adviser to the Chief Minister Meena Majid stated that schoolchildren were deliberately targeted and presented evidence alleging Indian support to terrorist networks operating in Balochistan.
Provincial Minister for Planning and Development Mir Zahoor Buledi said terrorism has no religion or ideology and claimed the attack’s roots could be traced to India, accusing it of trying to derail Pakistan’s development. He praised the role of the security forces and vowed continued resistance against terrorism.
PMLN MPA Zarak Khan Mandokhail said that targeting children was a failed attempt to destabilise Balochistan, and called for unity against those misleading the people. Farah Azeem Shah of the BAP said the Khuzdar attack proved that Indian-backed terrorists were active in the province. She urged the government to present Pakistan’s case globally and called for India to be declared a threat to regional peace.
PMLN Parliamentary Leader and Provincial Minister Mir Saleem Khosa described the attack as one of the most heartbreaking incidents in Balochistan’s history. He said the children’s martyrdom had exposed the hollow narratives of separatist elements and reaffirmed that terrorists have no faith or humanity.
PPP MPA Haji Ali Madad Jatak stated that the world now knows Pakistan’s enemies have moved from attacking borders to targeting children. He said those funded by India will not be able to shake the nation’s resolve.
Haq Do Tehreek’s MPA Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman stressed that protecting citizens is a constitutional obligation, while Provincial Education Minister Raheela Hameed Durrani, who visited the injured students at CMH, said their condition was deeply distressing and hoped this would be the last such incident.
JUI’s Shahida Rauf called the attackers cowardly enemies who deliberately targeted children. The House concluded by unanimously adopting the condemnation resolution, praying for the martyrs, speedy recovery of the injured, and long-lasting peace in the province.