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The Khuzdar School Bus Bombing: Tragedy, Propaganda, and the Specter of a False-Flag Operation

On the morning of May 21, 2025, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar, Balochistan, claimed the lives of at least five individuals, including three schoolchildren, and injured more than 50 others. The target was a school bus carrying dozens of students — a horrifying reminder of the growing instability in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province. Yet, as the international community expressed condolences and condemnation, Pakistan's establishment was quick to redirect attention — and blame — toward its perennial adversary: India.


This pattern, many analysts argue, raises serious questions about the credibility of Islamabad's narrative and points toward the possibility of a false-flag operation intended to serve domestic and geopolitical goals.


Khuzdar suicide attack (Image Source: Indian Express)
Khuzdar suicide attack (Image Source: Indian Express)

The Attack and Immediate Response

According to Pakistani media reports and eyewitness accounts, the attack took place around 8:30 AM local time as the school bus was en route to a private institution in Khuzdar. The explosion, which local officials confirmed was the result of a suicide bombing, left the vehicle mangled and spread chaos throughout the area. Medical teams and rescue services rushed to the scene, and security forces sealed off the perimeter.


Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif swiftly condemned the attack, labeling it a “cowardly act of terrorism” and vowing retribution. However, rather than waiting for a formal investigation, Pakistani officials, including military spokespersons, pointed fingers at India, claiming the bombing was carried out by “India-backed terrorists” aiming to destabilize the country by targeting its children and educational institutions.


Blame Game Without Evidence

Within hours, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued a statement accusing India’s intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) of orchestrating the attack. The claim was echoed across state-run media channels and several political platforms. Yet, conspicuously absent from these assertions was any tangible evidence.


India promptly rejected the allegations. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated, “Pakistan’s attempts to hoodwink the world by making baseless accusations are not new. The international community is well aware of its strategy to divert attention from internal failures by externalizing blame.”


The quick assignment of culpability without investigation is not an isolated incident. Pakistan has a long history of using anti-India rhetoric as a deflection tool — particularly during times of domestic unrest or institutional failure.


The Case for a False-Flag Operation

Security analysts and independent commentators have proposed that the Khuzdar bombing could potentially be a false-flag operation — a violent act committed with the intention of disguising the actual source and blaming another party.


Several indicators suggest this may be the case:


  • Immediate Accusations: The speed with which Pakistani authorities blamed India, without presenting any proof or preliminary findings, suggests a pre-scripted narrative.

  • Target Selection: The bombing of a school bus — a symbolically sensitive and emotionally charged target — guarantees widespread outrage. Such attacks have often been used historically to unify a population under siege mentality.

  • Balochistan's Insurgency: The region is plagued by insurgency movements demanding autonomy or independence. Many of these groups accuse the Pakistani military of brutal crackdowns, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. A terror attack blamed on India could be used to delegitimize local resistance and justify further militarization.

  • Media Synchronization: Pakistani media outlets, particularly state-run PTV and Radio Pakistan, immediately amplified the anti-India narrative, which suggests premeditation and coordination.


Historical Precedents

This wouldn’t be the first time Pakistan has attempted to project internal violence as externally orchestrated:


  • In 2016, following the Uri attack in Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan denied any involvement by local terror outfits despite credible evidence pointing toward Lashkar-e-Taiba.

  • After the 2021 Quetta Serena Hotel blast, authorities again blamed “foreign agencies,” though no credible links were ever established.

  • Pakistan’s narrative around the 26/11 Mumbai attacks has also been riddled with denials despite global condemnation of groups nurtured on its soil.


Why Blame India?

The internal political climate in Pakistan may offer clues. The country is grappling with an economic crisis, public discontent over rising inflation, and growing resentment in regions like Balochistan and Sindh. By invoking the “India threat,” the government and military establishment can:


  • Reignite nationalist sentiments

  • Divert attention from domestic governance failures

  • Justify increased military operations in Balochistan

  • Garner international sympathy by portraying themselves as victims


Conclusion

While the Khuzdar attack is undeniably a humanitarian tragedy that deserves thorough investigation and justice, the Pakistani establishment's immediate resort to unverified blame games undermines the credibility of its claims. If indeed a false-flag operation, it reflects a disturbing pattern of using terror against one's own citizens to craft a political narrative.


The world must demand transparency and impartiality. Innocent lives — especially those of children — should never be pawns in geopolitical chess games.


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