U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the deadly attacks targeting a university bus carrying female students, a hospital facility and a historic house in Pakistan on Saturday.
He also called on the Pakistani government to ensure that the perpetrators of Saturday's attacks are brought to justice as soon as possible.
Saturday's bomb attack on a bus belonging to the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, capital of the volatile Balochistan province, had killed at least 14 female students. Almost an hour after the explosion, a group of armed militants attacked the hospital treating survivors of the bus bombing.
At least eleven people, including the attackers, were killed in a prolonged gun-battle between security forces and militants at the hospital. The twin attacks came hours after a rocket struck the Quaid Azam Residency in Ziarat, which has historical importance as it was used by Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson early on Sunday, the U.N. chief said no cause justified such violence, and noted with dismay that "violence against women and educators has increased in recent years, the aim being to keep girls from attaining the basic right to education."
Calling on the Pakistani government in Islamabad "to do all possible to bring the perpetrators to justice," Ban expressed the U.N.'s solidarity "in the face of continued terrorist violence in Pakistan."
The UN Secretary-General also sent his condolences to the victims, their families, and the Pakistani government.
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