Pakistan School Bus Attack in Balochistan Leads to Anti-India Accusations
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
A barbaric terrorist attack in the restive Balochistan region led to Pakistan pointing the finger at India.
However, after recent tensions in Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the comments by Pakistan will merely inflame the situation. After all, various Islamist forces in parts of Pakistan and nationalist elements in Balochistan exist concerning their anti-central government stances. Therefore, for Pakistan to associate a terrorist attack that targeted children in Balochistan is beyond the pale considering the stern rebuke by India.
It is known that three children perished in the latest terrorist attack to hit Pakistan. Another two adults also died. At the moment, no terrorist or insurgent nationalist group is claiming responsibility. However, while the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) targets non-Baloch citizens and people deemed connected to China and Pakistan, it doesn’t attack children like this – unlike Islamist attacks against government and military educational institutions that have occurred.
The BLA desires to control its respective resources of copper, gold, iron ore, oil, and other natural resources. Hence, insurgents in Balochistan want to end Pakistan and China’s exploitation of the resources of this resource-rich region.
In 2014, Sunni Islamists killed 132 children and nine adults in Peshawar after attacking an army-run educational school.
Mohsin Naqvi, the Interior Minister of Pakistan, condemned the latest terrorist attack as “sheer barbarism” that is aimed at destabilizing the country.
The BBC reports, “The bus was carrying around 40 school children when it exploded at about 07:40 local time (02:40 GMT) just outside the remote town of Khuzdar, police told the BBC.”
In March, the BLA attacked a train, which led to the deaths of 21 civilians and four security personnel. This happened in the Sibi district of Balochistan.
A media group linked to the armed forces of Pakistan claimed that “Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool by India to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan said, “Terrorists operating under Indian patronage attacking innocent children on a school bus is clear evidence of their hostility.”
This allegation, along with other smears emanating from Pakistan, was rebuked by India.
The Foreign Ministry of India condemned what it called “baseless allegations regarding Indian involvement in unrest in Pakistan.”
KASHMIR CRISIS
Military skirmishes recently erupted between India and Pakistan after a brutal terrorist attack that killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir.
TASS News reports, “India has accused Pakistan’s Interagency Intelligence Service of involvement in the attack, carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba group (banned in Russia).”
The Guardian says, “The trigger for the conflict was a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 people. The Indian government accused Pakistan-backed militant groups of being behind the incident and launched targeted missile strikes at ‘terrorist infrastructure and camps’ over the border. Pakistan responded by firing missiles at Indian military targets.”
India responded by declaring Operation Sindoor. Hence, India launched military strikes against Pakistan. Since then, deaths have been reported in both India and Pakistan concerning military strikes.
However, a ceasefire between India and Pakistan was declared and is holding despite tensions.
Accordingly, the strong condemnations against India concerning the terrorist attack in Balochistan are bound to up the ante again and lead to further mistrust.
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