The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) said on Telegram “accept responsibility for the suicide attack” which targeted a minibus near this cultural institute affiliated with the University of Karachi, where language and culture are taught. Chinese literature.
The BLA, which has in the past carried out several large-scale attacks against Chinese interests in Pakistan, said it was the first suicide mission led by a woman.
Balochistan is the large, poor and sparsely populated province of southwestern Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Photo Fareed Khan, Associated Press
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Chinese-funded projects have often created strong resentment in Pakistan, especially among Baloch separatist groups, who believe the local population does not benefit from them, with most jobs going to Chinese labor .
Police confirmed the deaths of four people, including three Chinese members of the institute, and a Pakistani driver.
CCTV footage shown on local channels shows a woman standing near the entrance to the institute on the university campus as the minibus pulls up.
When the vehicle is within a meter of her, she turns her back and activates her explosive vest.
“We were having a meeting in the dean’s office when we heard a deafening explosion,” said Naeema Saeed, a professor in the university’s criminology department.
New tactic
“It felt like the roof was collapsing or the ground was creaking. We rushed outside. We looked around and saw smoke rising,” she added.
The use of suicide bombers is a new tactic adopted by Baloch groups. The BLA released a photo of the perpetrator of the attack. The woman appears in a brown fatigues and smiles broadly, raising two fingers.
The new Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, immediately denounced “a cowardly act of terrorism”.
“I am deeply bereaved by the loss of precious lives, including those of our Chinese friends,” he tweeted, promising to bring the culprits to justice.
The safety of Chinese employees working on the various infrastructure projects in Pakistan has long been a concern for Beijing, which has invested billions of dollars in recent years there.
The BLA has already claimed responsibility for several attacks on Chinese targets, citing control over local resources by Islamabad and Beijing.
In May 2019, she attacked the luxury hotel overlooking the deep-water port of Gwadar, a flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), for which Beijing was to spend more than 50 billion dollars, causing the death of at least eight people.
Marginalized province
Six months earlier, she had led an assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and its economic and financial capital, killing at least four people. And in June 2020, she attacked the Karachi Stock Exchange, partly owned by Chinese companies (at least 4 dead).
Chinese interests have also been targeted by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban. In April 2021, this group had claimed responsibility for a suicide attack against a luxury hotel in Quetta (west), capital of Balochistan, in which the Chinese ambassador was staying, who had not been injured.
The Pakistani government has also accused the TTP of being – with the help of India and Afghanistan – behind the July 2021 attack on a bus carrying Chinese workers who were working on the construction of the Dasu hydroelectric dam. , in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (north-west).
At least 13 people, including nine Chinese, had been killed. Islamabad had been slow to recognize that it was an attack, which had caused tensions with Beijing.
Balochistan has long been the scene of ethnic, sectarian and separatist violence.
The province is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but its population – around 12 million inhabitants – complains of being marginalized and deprived of its natural resources.
The BLA had claimed responsibility in February for a double attack against two military camps in this province. The Pakistani army had taken four days to eliminate all the attackers, giving a final death toll of 20 militants and nine soldiers.
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Ashraf KHAN
France Media Agency
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The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) said on Telegram “accept responsibility for the suicide attack” which targeted a minibus near this cultural institute affiliated with the University of Karachi, where language and culture are taught. Chinese literature.
The BLA, which has in the past carried out several large-scale attacks against Chinese interests in Pakistan, said it was the first suicide mission led by a woman.
Balochistan is the large, poor and sparsely populated province of southwestern Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
Photo Fareed Khan, Associated Press
–
Chinese-funded projects have often created strong resentment in Pakistan, especially among Baloch separatist groups, who believe the local population does not benefit from them, with most jobs going to Chinese labor .
Police confirmed the deaths of four people, including three Chinese members of the institute, and a Pakistani driver.
CCTV footage shown on local channels shows a woman standing near the entrance to the institute on the university campus as the minibus pulls up.
When the vehicle is within a meter of her, she turns her back and activates her explosive vest.
“We were having a meeting in the dean’s office when we heard a deafening explosion,” said Naeema Saeed, a professor in the university’s criminology department.
New tactic
“It felt like the roof was collapsing or the ground was creaking. We rushed outside. We looked around and saw smoke rising,” she added.
The use of suicide bombers is a new tactic adopted by Baloch groups. The BLA released a photo of the perpetrator of the attack. The woman appears in a brown fatigues and smiles broadly, raising two fingers.
The new Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, immediately denounced “a cowardly act of terrorism”.
“I am deeply bereaved by the loss of precious lives, including those of our Chinese friends,” he tweeted, promising to bring the culprits to justice.
The safety of Chinese employees working on the various infrastructure projects in Pakistan has long been a concern for Beijing, which has invested billions of dollars in recent years there.
The BLA has already claimed responsibility for several attacks on Chinese targets, citing control over local resources by Islamabad and Beijing.
In May 2019, she attacked the luxury hotel overlooking the deep-water port of Gwadar, a flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), for which Beijing was to spend more than 50 billion dollars, causing the death of at least eight people.
Marginalized province
Six months earlier, she had led an assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and its economic and financial capital, killing at least four people. And in June 2020, she attacked the Karachi Stock Exchange, partly owned by Chinese companies (at least 4 dead).
Chinese interests have also been targeted by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban. In April 2021, this group had claimed responsibility for a suicide attack against a luxury hotel in Quetta (west), capital of Balochistan, in which the Chinese ambassador was staying, who had not been injured.
The Pakistani government has also accused the TTP of being – with the help of India and Afghanistan – behind the July 2021 attack on a bus carrying Chinese workers who were working on the construction of the Dasu hydroelectric dam. , in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (north-west).
At least 13 people, including nine Chinese, had been killed. Islamabad had been slow to recognize that it was an attack, which had caused tensions with Beijing.
Balochistan has long been the scene of ethnic, sectarian and separatist violence.
The province is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but its population – around 12 million inhabitants – complains of being marginalized and deprived of its natural resources.
The BLA had claimed responsibility in February for a double attack against two military camps in this province. The Pakistani army had taken four days to eliminate all the attackers, giving a final death toll of 20 militants and nine soldiers.
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