- Lt-Gen Chaudhry says attack in Balochistan had nothing to do with ‘Baloch identity, rather it was just India’s provocation’
- We are going to tell the world … that India is the epicentre of destabilization and terrorism in this region: DG ISPR
- Vehemently criticises Baloch Yakjehti Committee and its leader, saying the media needed to ‘unmask’ the group and its membership
- Military carried out more than 93,000 operations across Pakistan in one and a half years: Lt-Gen Chaudhry
- Capt (retd) Agha says initial findings confirmed the school bus attack was a continuation of the broader pattern of violence sponsored by India
- Declares, ‘this was not an attack on a bus alone, rather an attack on our values, our education, and the very fabric of society’
ISLAMABAD: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday reiterated that “Indian state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan” was taking place since inception of the country and it was also responsible for Khuzdar school bus attack, saying the attack in Balochistan had nothing to do with the “Baloch identity, rather it was just India’s provocation.”
DG ISPR Lt Gen Chaudhry was addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside the Interior Secretary, Captain (retd) Khurram Muhammad Agha.
The DG ISPR maintained that New Delhi had been involved in perpetrating terrorism across the country “since the inception of Pakistan.”
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry #DGISPR presents irrefutable evidence of #India‘s state sponsored terrorism in #Pakistan especially in #Balochistan#PakistanArmy #Khuzdar #ISPR pic.twitter.com/FZ3MDkKI6P
— Pakistan Armed Forces News 🇵🇰 (@PakistanFauj) May 23, 2025
On Wednesday, at least six people, including three students, were martyred while over 40 others — mostly students — were injured when “an explosives-laden” vehicle targeted a school bus near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the Quetta-Karachi highway when it was transporting students at the Army Public School in Khuzdar Cantonment.
On Thursday, the military 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 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, he said, referring to the government-designated term for all terror outfits in Balochistan. “What kind of a country celebrates acts of terrorism?”
Indian involvement in terrorism ‘since 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.
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 35 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 continuation 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.”
Lt Gen Chaudhry then spoke about the Indian attacks on Pakistan on May 6 and 7, which were carried out by New Delhi after blaming Islamabad for Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir on April 22.
“Never in modern history have you seen any nation, any media celebrating the killing of children and women the way India is celebrating.
“This is the low moral fibre and level that the current Indian political elite has brought the society to.”
He said that one of the proxies of the Fitnah al Hindustan on May 11 issued a press release displaying a post from BLA.
In the post, he said that the BLA had assured India that if it received “political, diplomatic and defence support” from New Delhi, “We, along with the entire nation, is ready to attack from the western border and we will become 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 be deterred by the Fitnah al Hindustan with such press releases and cowardly actions? Absolutely not. Never,” he said.
He further said, “Instead of refraining from their oppression of minorities or finding a solution, India is carrying out terrorist activities 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 DG ISPR also called out the Indian media for spreading propaganda and said: “The Indian 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.”
‘Terrorists who laid down arms confessed to links with India’
Speaking about terrorists who had laid down arms before the State, the DG ISPR said: “There were some brave ones who stood up and surrendered because they realised that they were not there to fight India’s war. They [surrendered terrorists] come and tell us how India was involved.”
He highlighted the case of Adeela Baloch, a former militant who had surrendered herself to the authorities.
“She was exploited and blackmailed by the Fitnah al Hindustan to become a suicide bomber,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said, adding that India was “exploiting young women from Balochistan.”
In response to a question about a policy to counter Fitnah al Hindustan, the DG ISPR replied: “I would say that our 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 and 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 resort to this military escalation? One of the very important reasons was that all elements of national power over the last two years have gelled together.”
He went on to say that Pakistan had begun “squeezing the space for terrorists to operate” and that in the first five months of this year, 203 terrorists had been killed in Balochistan alone.
“Illegal Afghans are being pushed out and actions are being taken against the crime-terror nexus. In Balochistan, illegal trade routes are being shut down to stop funding for these terrorists,” DG ISPR added.
Answering another question, the DG ISPR vehemently criticised the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and its leader Dr Mahrang Baloch, saying that the media needed to “unmask” the group and its membership.
“The state has taken action against the BYC and their space has been squeezed,” he said.
He said that India’s military escalation was a necessity to create space for their proxy groups in the region, but stated that Pakistan did not disengage a single soldier from its counterterrorism force.
“Did we take even one soldier out? No. Because we knew they would operate in unison.”
He added that India was growing frustrated and desperate, stating that the country’s media was “howling” about Balochistan.
“It is clear that this is not a war of the Baloch, it is a war against Indian terror proxies who are killing children for money. Once they know it, then they get worried,” DG ISPR said.
‘Acted as a rational player in scenario with India’
DG ISPR reiterated that Pakistan was the “rational player” in the scenario with India and stated that the Pahalgam attack took place due to “India’s own oppression in Kashmir”.
“Their response was totally irrational, illogical and unilateral,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said. “Pakistan is approaching the issue of terrorism in Balochistan rationally because we are resolving it in unison and with the synergetic application of all elements of national power.
“The military is one part, where we have carried out more than 93,000 operations across Pakistan in one and a half years,” he added. Another part is socioeconomic, another is diplomacy, while the other part is us sitting here telling the people and the international community that this has nothing to do with Balochistan.
DG ISPR added that Pakistan “striking Indian cities and temples” would not resolve the problem, adding that “that is not how a rational state acts.
“We are going to tell the world … that India is the epicentre of destabilization and terrorism in this region and this history starts from 1971 with the Mukti Bahini, and even before. And in multiple countries of this region. I will not name it now but there is proof, the world knows it.”
