Karachi, Pakistan — A Pakistani separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack A late night bombing targeted a convoy carrying Chinese citizens Gunmen killed outside the country’s largest airport, killing two Chinese workers and wounding eight people, officials and the rebel group said Monday.
The attack by the Balochistan Liberation Army outside the airport in the southern port city of Karachi was the latest deadly attack on the Chinese here and came a week before Pakistan hosts a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security group founded by China and Russia. To confront Western alliances.
The explosion, which the Balochistan Liberation Army said was the work of a suicide bomber, also raised questions about the ability of Pakistani forces to secure high-profile events or foreigners in the country. Police officers who were escorting the Chinese convoy when the attack occurred were also among the wounded.
Initially, Pakistani authorities provided conflicting details and said the explosion might have been from an oil tanker, but police later confirmed it was a bomb attack.
Pakistani news channels broadcast video clips showing flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. Troops and police cordoned off the area. Counter-terrorism officials were investigating on Monday how the attacker arrived in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
The separatist group’s spokesman, Junaid Baloch, said on Monday that one of the movement’s suicide bombers targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers and investors as they were leaving the airport. The Balochistan Liberation Army is mainly based in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, but has also attacked foreigners and security forces in other parts of Pakistan in recent years.
The Chinese embassy in Islamabad said Chinese employees working at Port Qasim Electric Power Company – a coal-fired power plant that is a joint venture between China and Pakistan – were in the convoy when it was attacked at around 11pm on Sunday. The embassy said that two Chinese citizens were killed and another was injured, and added, without going into details, that there were also Pakistani victims.
Pakistani security officials say that the police bomb disposal unit in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, cleared the road outside the airport before the Chinese convoy moved, which was accompanied by police and security officials in several vehicles.
However, the road was not closed to avoid inconveniencing residents and travelers heading to and from the airport, said the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss security details.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned the bombing, saying it was a “heinous terrorist attack near Karachi airport.” She added that another Chinese man was injured in the attack.
The ministry said in a statement: “We extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, both Chinese and Pakistani, and pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.” He added: “We are determined to bring those responsible for this cowardly attack to justice.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed shock and sadness, describing the attackers as “enemies of Pakistan” and promising to punish the perpetrators.
“I strongly condemn this heinous act and offer my heartfelt condolences to the Chinese leadership & “The people of China, especially the families of the victims,” he wrote on social media platform X.
He added, “Pakistan is committed to protecting our Chinese friends. We will spare no effort to ensure their security.” & “Luxury.”
Authorities estimate that the Balochistan Liberation Army, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan and the United States, has about 3,000 fighters. It regularly targets Pakistani security forces, but has also attacked Chinese nationals in the past.
According to Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the BLA prefers attacks on “moving targets” but its ability to launch high-profile attacks has increased in recent years.
Khan told the Associated Press that more attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army cannot be ruled out during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit next week.
Port Qasim Electric Power Company is owned by PowerChina Resource Ltd, a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China whose spokesman, Geng Xingqiang, said the company was “in the middle of making arrangements to effectively deal with the incident.”
Pakistan hosts thousands of Chinese workers as part of Beijing’s multi-billion dollar project Belt and Road InitiativeWhich builds major infrastructure projects.
The long-banned Balochistan Liberation Army has been waging an independence insurgency and has repeatedly warned against any Chinese operating in Balochistan.
The attack followed on Sunday night Deadly attacks in August Which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people in Balochistan. Sharif said at the time that the attackers sought… To harm development projects funded by China.
Balochistan province, rich in oil and minerals, is the largest province in Pakistan, but it is also the least populated. It is also a center of ethnicity in the country The Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination And exploitation by the central government. Besides separatist groups, Islamic militants are also active in the province.
In 2018, the Balochistan Liberation Army stormed the Chinese consulate in Karachi, triggering an hour-long intense shooting that left two Pakistani civilians and two police officers dead. The three attackers were also killed.
In March, a suicide bombing occurred in northwestern Pakistan Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed As they headed to Dassault Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in the country. In April, Five Japanese workers They were unharmed when a suicide bomber targeted their truck while they were on their way to a factory in Karachi. A bystander was killed.
In July 2021, at least nine Chinese nationals working on a dam and four Pakistanis were killed when a suicide bomber targeted their bus in northwestern Pakistan. Local authorities initially said it was a road accident, but Beijing insisted it was a bombing, which Islamabad later confirmed.
In 2022, Three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani driver were killed When an explosion occurred in their truck on the Karachi University campus.
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu and AP researcher Yu Ping in Beijing contributed to this report.