KARACHI: An explosion ripped through a van inside a university campus in Karachi on Tuesday, killing three Chinese nationals and their local driver, officials said.
At least three Chinese among five killed in a terrorist attack inside Karachi University at Conficious Institute #Karachi #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/Gf3z9XLDuW
— Mubashir Zaidi (@Xadeejournalist) April 26, 2022
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) militant group claimed responsibility for the blast, which took place near a university campus, adding in an email sent to a Reuters reporter that it had been carried out by a woman suicide bomber.
The blast was the first major attack against Chinese nationals in Pakistan since last year when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus in the Upper Kohistan district that killed 13 people, including nine Chinese.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi told reporters the blast killed three foreigners and a local.
“The reports we have got is that they’re Chinese,” he said in comments telecast live from the scene of the crime. He said the three Chinese were teachers at Karachi University.
The three dead Chinese included the director of the Chinese-built Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language graduate classes, and two teachers. The fourth fatality was the Pakistani driver of the van, the officials said.
“It is too early to say what kind of a blast it is,” police officer Muqaddas Haider told reporters. “We have a confirmation of four deaths, but I can’t say anything about their identities.”
When asked, Haider declined to confirm television reports that the foreigners were among the occupants of the van.
Abdul, Khaliq, a police official, said an investigation was underway. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a proscribed militant group active in Balochistan, has targeted Chinese nationals in attacks in the past.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later in the day, visited the Chinese Embassy here and conveyed his condolence over the death of Chinese nationals in a blast that took place in Karachi earlier in the afternoon.
PM CONDOLES WITH CHINESE OFFICIALS
The prime minister met Chinese Charge’d Affaires Pang Chunxue and sympathized with the government and the people of China as well as the bereaved families.
The prime minister, who was accompanied by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, assured a swift probe into the tragedy to take the culprits to task.
“I want to assure you on my behalf, on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan, that we will hunt down the perpetrators, culprits, killers. We will not rest until they are caught and given exemplary punishment,” the prime minister said talking to the Chinese media at the embassy.
He instructed the authorities concerned to provide foolproof security to the Chinese nationals as well as the organizations.
Calling it an attack on China-Pakistan cordial relations, the prime minister resolved that the Government would not let the bilateral ties be undermined through such acts.
He said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah would visit Karachi on Wednesday to assist the Sindh government in the investigation and extend all required cooperation from the Federal Government to nab the culprits.
Moreover, he said, the government would review the entire security risks to the Chinese people and take all possible measures to strengthen the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.
“We will not allow any disturbance in this friendship, come what may. We will cut their hands and stop them from creating any differences,” he resolved.
The prime minister, in his condolatory remarks at the embassy, wrote, “We are deeply shocked and distressed at this dastardly attack. All Pakistanis mourn their loss and offer their condolences to the bereaved families.”
He also reiterated the government’s commitment to eliminating all militants and terrorists from the Pakistani soil. “We won’t rest until the culprits are hunted down and given exemplary punishment,” he wrote.
CONDOLENCES POUR IN
As the condolences started pouring in, Jamiat Ulem-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman strongly condemned the suicide attack occurred at Karachi University.
In a message, he offered his condolences to those foreigners and compatriots who were killed in the suicide attack.
Maulana Fazl said he was equally feeling the pain and suffering of the victims and their families at this crucial hour.
He proposed the government to make fool proof arrangements for the safety of foreigners, especially Chinese brothers.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a van at Karachi University, killing three Chinese faculty members and their Pakistani driver.
The PPP chairman, in a statement issued by the Media Cell Bilawal House, expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives in the attack.
“I am sure the Sindh Police will ferret out the terrorists and they will soon be in the clutches of law,” he added.
Bilawal Bhutto stressed that fool-proof measures should be taken to ensure security of the Chinese citizens in Pakistan.
He also prayed for early recovery of those injured in the attack.
The Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Security, Shazia Marri also strongly condemned the blast incident which occurred in Karachi terming it as a cowardly act to destroy the peace of Pakistan.
“The Pakistani nation has bravely fought terrorism and will continue to do so in the future,” Shazia Marri said in a statement.
The federal minister expressed condolences to the victims of the incident and prayed for the safety of the injured.
Pakistan’s enemies will not succeed in their nefarious designs through such cowardly attacks, she said.
Expressing condolences over the death of Chinese citizens, Shazia Marri said “Pak-China brotherly relations will not be affected by such terrorist activities”.
