5, including 3 children killed, several others injured in Pakistan school bus explosion

In a statement, the army said that the attack was "planned and orchestrated by India and executed by its proxies" in Balochistan, and targeted innocent school-going children in Khuzdar.

"These Indian terror proxies are being employed as a state tool... to foment terrorism in Pakistan against soft targets such as innocent children and civilians," it added.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi by the time of publication of this story.

No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has carried out similar attacks in the past, targeting civilians and security forces.

According to local police, the explosion came when the bus was carrying children to the school.

The Pakistani statement pointing to New Delhi was the first since the recent military escalation between the two South Asian nations that ended with a US-mediated ceasefire on May 10.

The military escalation began between the two nuclear neighbors on May 6, when India fired missiles inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, hitting what New Delhi said were "nine terror locations," triggering retaliation on May 10 by Islamabad, which said it hit 26 Indian military targets inside its eastern neighbor as well as in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has experienced frequent insurgent violence and armed attacks, often targeting security forces.