ISLAMABAD: Following the Khuzdar school bus attack, several Indian troll accounts and the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) linked social media accounts, have tried to distort facts by labeling the school bus as a Pakistan Army vehicle and falsely claiming that schools in the region were closed at the time of the attack.
In reality, the academic calendar in Balochistan is divided into winter and summer zones. In colder districts such as Quetta and Kalat, educational institutions observe a long winter break from December 16 to February 28. However, in hotter districts like Khuzdar, the winter vacation lasts only from December 22 to December 31.
As per the provincial notification for hot areas, summer vacations are from May 15 to July 31. Most of Khuzdar falls in the hot zone; however, some high-altitude union councils also have the exemption of the cold zone. This ambiguity was exploited by Indian trolls.
The bus that was attacked belonged to the Army Public School & College System (APSACS) Khuzdar, which follows the same curriculum and vacation calendar across the country under the federal Ministry of Defense.
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The summer break for the hot areas of APSACS starts from June 9. On May 21, the bus was carrying students during regular classes and annual exams. Thus, the reference to provincial holidays does not apply to this bus. The main point of Indian propaganda is exposed here.
The claim of attack on the military convoy is false because there were more than 40 students in the bus with school bags and uniforms; confirmed by government footage and foreign agencies.
