Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has reiterated that “Indian state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan” — which has been ongoing since the inception of the country — was also responsible for the recent attack in Balochistan’s Khuzdar.
On May 21, at least six people, including three students, were slain while over 40 others — mostly students — were injured after a bomb targeted a school bus near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the Quetta-Karachi highway when it was on its way to drop the students at the Army Public School in Khuzdar Cantonment.
On Thursday, the army’s top brass, during the 270th Corps Commander Conference (CCC), had also pointed out India’s involvement in the incident, vowing that the armed forces will prevent the country’s peace from being compromised by “externally-sponsored terrorism.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry was addressing a press conference in Islamabad today alongside the Interior Secretary, Captain (retd) Khurram Muhammad Agha.
“India was planning and instructing terrorist activities taking place in Pakistan, the funding for which is also provided by India,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said. “The attack in Balochistan had nothing to do with the Baloch identity, rather it was just India’s provocation.”
The DG ISPR highlighted that the attack on the Chinese envoy in Karachi in Oct 2024 also had Indian backing. “The Indian social media accounts affiliated with the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) posted about the attack beforehand.
He added that the same thing happened during the hijacking of the Jaffar Express train in March when more than 400 passengers were taken hostage by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists.
“Before the Jaffer Express incident occurred, they [the social media accounts] were asking followers to ‘keep an eye on Pakistan today and tomorrow’.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry pointed out that the Indian media was “celebrating” the attack in Khuzdar. “These are all Indian accounts, affiliated with RAW [and] posting for BLA and Fitnah al Hindustan. What kind of a country celebrates acts of terrorism?”
The DG ISPR also maintained that New Delhi had been involved in perpetrating terrorism across the country “since the inception of Pakistan.”
“In 2009, the Pakistani government handed a dossier containing irrefutable evidence [of India’s involvement in terror attacks across Pakistan] to the Indian prime minister,” he said. “The publicly disclosed documents released in 2010 are part of history. In 2016, the world saw another ugly face of India-sponsored terrorism in Balochistan in the form of [Indian spy] Kulbushan Jadhav, a serving Indian naval officer,” he said.
Jadhav was arrested on March 3, 2016, in a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan’s Mashkel area for his involvement in espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan.
“Then in [2020], a dossier full of evidence was presented to the United Nations.
Very recently, the international media has seen confessions and acknowledgement of multiple surrendered terrorists of this Fitnah al Hindustan,” he said, referring to the government-designated term for all terror outfits in Balochistan.
Interior Secretary Agha also said that India was behind the terrorist incident in Khuzdar on May 21.
“In the aftermath of the despicable terrorist attack on a school bus in Khuzdar in the early morning of May 21, this cowardly attack targeted innocent children, our future, resulting in the tragic loss of six children and injuries to 31 others.
“Let me be unequivocal that this was not an attack on a bus alone, it was an attack on our values, our education, and the very fabric of our society,” Capt (retd) Agha said.
“On behalf of the government of Pakistan, I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, we share their grief and we stand by them in this hour of immense suffering. The Ministry of Interior, in close cooperation with the provincial authorities and the law enforcement agencies, is looking into all [aspects] of this dastardly attack.”
Capt. (retd) Agha said initial findings confirmed that this attack was a continuity of a broader pattern of violence sponsored by India through Fitnah al Hindustan, operating under the tutelage and intelligence of the Indian intelligence agency, RAW [Research and Analysis Wing].
“Having miserably failed in the so-called Operation Sindoor, the terror proxies of Hindustan have been tasked to accentuate their heinous attacks of terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere. Let me be absolutely clear here, the people of Pakistan will not let them succeed.
“Pakistan and its people, particularly in Balochistan, reject this nefarious design. The state has the capacity and the will to dismantle these networks and bring the perpetrators and their handlers to justice. Such actions will have consequences.”
He said in the past couple of years, having suffered immense casualties in their attempts against hard targets, Fitnah al Hindustan has resorted to hitting soft targets wayfarers, labourers working on development projects, infrastructure and machinery to paint a picture of loosening control of the State.
“Much against the tradition and culture of the Baloch, these terrorists have stooped so low that innocent school children have now been targeted. I assure you that the State, in collaboration with the provincial governments and the state apparatus, will defeat them.
“These Indian-sponsored terrorists have no place in Pakistan and our national discourse. We have … commitment to bring an end to this violence. Our resolve is firm and our response will be decisive. They will not succeed.”
Speaking on the May 6 and 7 Indian attacks, which resulted in civilian deaths in Pakistan, he said, “Never in modern history, have you seen any nation, any media celebrating the killing of children and women the way they are celebrating.
“This is the low moral fibre and level that the current Indian political elite has brought the society to.”
“One of the proxies of the Fitnah al Hindustan on May 11 issued a press release,” the DG ISPR said, displaying a post from BLA.
“They say ‘If we receive political, diplomatic and defence support from India’; They say ‘We assure India to attack the western border […] BLA and the entire nation is ready to attack from the western border. We will become its [India’s] practical and military arm’.”
He said that RAW made BLA issue this press release “because they are unable to deter the state of Pakistan … They attack but the resolve of Pakistani people has not diminished.”
“Will we get deterred from the Fitna al Hindustan with such press releases and cowardly actions? Absolutely not. Never,” he said.
“This nexus [and] Fitnah al Hindustan have no relation to the Baloch identity and Pakistan. They are related to them [India]. They are their masters and perpetrators. This the evil face of Fitnah al Hindustan.”
“Who is the state-sponsored terror in this region?” he said, adding that the world can see now but they [India] blame Pakistan. “They [India] do this to hide from their own terrorism.”
He further said, “Instead of refraining from their oppression of minorities or finding a solution, they are doing terrorism in Pakistan and the region.
“They are externalising internal issues and when anyone asks for evidence, they do not have evidence. Who is the state sponsor of terrorism and the epicentre of destabilisation in this region?” he questioned.
“The Indian state-controlled media. Their media is not free, but controlled by the state,” he said, adding that those who were questioning media freedom in Pakistan were now aware of how free it was, compared to the “conditions of media in a so-called democracy [India].”
Speaking about terrorists who had surrendered, the DG ISPR said: “There are some brave ones who stand up and surrender because they realise that they were not there to fight India’s war. They [surrendered terrorists] come and tell how India was involved.”
He highlighted the case of Adeela Baloch, who surrendered. She was “exploited and blackmailed by the Fitnah al Hindustan to be used as a suicide bomber”, he said, adding that India was exploiting young women from Balochistan.
To a question about a policy to counter Fitnah al Hindustan, the DG ISPR replied: I would say that one-liner policy is that the nation, this iron wall, we fought in a gallant and exemplary manner against the Indian military aggression on the night of [May] 6 and 7 and you saw it again on May 10.
This steel wall needs to be in unison turned against the forces of terrorism.“
The DGR ISPR further said: “We need to understand certain facts. Why did the Indians feel the need to do this military escalation? One of the very important reasons was that all elements of national power over the last two years have gelled together.”
Answering a question about the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and its leader Dr Mahrang Baloch, the military spokesperson said that the media needed to “unmask” the group and its membership.
“Unmask the BYC and Mahrang Baloch’s evil faces,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said. “They talk about human rights but terrorists have no relation to human rights or religion.
“They talk about human rights and missing persons, but when we kill terrorists, we identify them with DNA. They often turn out to be missing persons themselves,” he added.
DG ISPR also questioned the group when they attempted to take custody of the bodies of terrorists killed during the Jaffer Express hijacking in March.
“Who is she and who are they to take terrorists’ bodies?” He emphasised.
“The state will prosecute; they have a process,” he added. “It is now clear that the BYC is a proxy of terrorism. Terrorists and their proxies have to be dealt with in the way that any nation deals with proxies. There is no doubt; there should be absolute clarity on that.”
More to follow
