News Mania / Piyal Chatterjee / 7th October 2024
According to the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, a “terrorist attack” resulted in the deaths of two Chinese nationals on Sunday night in an explosion close to Karachi’s international airport in the country’s south.
The separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) stated in an email to journalists that they were the ones responsible for the explosion and that they had used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device to target Chinese nationals, including engineers.According to the Chinese embassy, there was an incident close to the airport on a Port Qasim Electric Power Company convoy.
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express deep condolences to the innocent victims of both countries and sincere sympathies to the injured and (their) families,” the statement said, adding the Chinese side has been working with Pakistani authorities in the aftermath.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a Chinese national was also injured and that an investigation was underway.
“Pakistan stands committed to safeguarding our Chinese friends,” he said in a statement on social media platform X. “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure their security and well-being.”
The SCO meeting is scheduled for next week, and organizers have promised to ensure high-level Chinese representation as well as the first visit by an Indian foreign minister in ten years.
In addition to the fatalities from Sunday’s blast, at least ten injuries were also reported by Pakistani network Geo News. Requests for comments were not immediately answered by Karachi police.
The province of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is situated in southwest Pakistan, is the target of the BLA’s independence movement. It carried out coordinated strikes throughout the province in August, killing around 70 people.
BLA expressly targets Chinese interests, claiming Beijing assists Islamabad in abusing the province and is particularly targeting the vital port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously assaulted Beijing’s consulate in Karachi and killed Chinese nationals who were employed in the area.
China has billions of planned investments that have been impacted by security concerns, particularly those made under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Five Chinese engineers working on a hydroelectric project in northern Pakistan were slain by a suicide bomber in March. Although the Pakistani Taliban denied being responsible for the attack, authorities detained terrorists they claimed to be affiliated with them.
