Tragic School Bus Bombing in Pakistan Claims Four Young Lives

A suicide car bombing targeting a school bus in Khuzdar, Balochistan, has left at least four children dead and 38 others injured, according to local deputy commissioner Yasir Iqbal. The incident occurred on May 21, 2025, as the bus was transporting students to their school in a region plagued by violence. While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities suspect it may be linked to ethnic Baloch separatists, known for their frequent assaults on civilian and military targets in the area. Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack, labeling the perpetrators as "beasts" and describing the act as a form of "sheer barbarism" aimed at innocent children. Balochistan has been the center of a long-standing insurgency involving numerous separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States since 2019. This recent attack follows another bombing in Qillah Abdullah that killed four individuals just days prior, further highlighting the ongoing violence in the troubled province.

A recent United Nations report has highlighted a severe food crisis in Pakistan, revealing that over 11 million people are facing acute hunger, with approximately 1.7 million in "emergency" conditions—just one step away from famine. The findings come from the Global Report on Food Crises 2025, issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on May 16. The report indicates a troubling 38% increase in the number of food-insecure individuals since 2024, particularly impacting impoverished regions like Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Factors contributing to this crisis include extreme weather events, ongoing poverty, and political neglect, with nearly 22% of the affected population facing starvation after devastating floods. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate in certain districts has exceeded 30%, a figure deemed life-threatening by global health standards. Despite some minor improvements compared to last year, the outlook remains grim, as climate volatility continues to disrupt livelihoods and access to clean water, exacerbating the humanitarian situation. As Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seeks to elevate Pakistan’s standing internationally, the stark reality of the food crisis challenges his governmental efforts.

Reports reveal a disturbing escalation of Pakistan's military-backed operations in Balochistan, characterized by a brutal "kill-and-dump" policy against alleged dissidents. According to intelligence sources, the Pakistan Army has empowered death squads, such as the Counter-Terrorism Department and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Aman Balochistan, to operate with impunity since the March 2025 hijacking of the Jaffar Express by the Baloch Liberation Army. Activist groups, like the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, have documented over 7,000 cases of enforced disappearances since 2004, with reports indicating 51 extrajudicial killings within the first four months of 2025 alone. Families of the victims often receive no information regarding their relatives, who are taken by plainclothes agents and held in secret facilities where they face severe torture. This strategy mirrors past military tactics in Kashmir and is reportedly designed to shield the armed forces from direct accountability, raising serious concerns about human rights violations in the region.