WASHINGTON: The United States condemned the suicide bombing attack at a Chinese language and cultural centre at the University of Karachi that killed three Chinese teachers.
The blast detonated by a 30-year-old woman blew up a minivan outside Confucius Institute, killing her, the Chinese teachers and their local driver.
It was the first major attack this year against nationals of China working in Pakistan, and it drew Beijing’s condemnation.
A militant group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) based in Balochistan, said the mother of two, who held a graduate degree in zoology and was studying for another, had volunteered for the attack targeting China whose investment projects in Balochistan they oppose.
Addressing his daily press briefing on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price deplored the attack, terming it “a true affront to mankind”.
“A terrorist attack anywhere is an affront to humanity everywhere, but for a terrorist attack to take place at a university, or at a religious site, or at some of the locations we’ve seen recently — that is a true affront to mankind,” he said when asked to comment on the attack.
Price said the US attaches great importance to its relations with Pakistan. “When it comes to your question, what I’ll say is that we value our bilateral relationship. We want to continue to work together in areas where we do have mutual interests with our Pakistani partners. That includes counterterrorism. That includes border security as well,” Price added.
