Tag: Karachi blast

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Pak PM Mourns Loss of Chinese Nationals, Vows probe

Pic credits Xinhua News Agency

Shehbaz Sharif assured that an immediate investigation is underway to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed profound shock and grief over the attack on a convoy of Chinese nationals in Karachi, the southern port city.

The assault, which occurred Sunday night, claimed the lives of two Chinese citizens and left another wounded.

In an official statement, the prime minister strongly condemned the “heinous act” and offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the people of China, especially the families of the victims, Xinhua News agency reported.

Pic credits Xinhua News Agency

“I am deeply shocked and saddened by last night’s tragic incident in Karachi, resulting in the loss of two precious Chinese lives and injuring another,” said the prime minister, praying for the quick recovery of the injured.

Sharif assured that an immediate investigation is underway to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

The prime minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to protecting Chinese nationals in the country, pledging that every possible measure would be taken to ensure their safety.

“Pakistan stands committed to safeguarding our Chinese friends. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure their security and well-being,” he added.

Earlier on Monday morning, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said that the attack happened at about 11:00 p.m. local time on Sunday (1800 GMT) when a convoy from the Port Qasim Electric Power Company was attacked by terrorists near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. ■

Security personnel stand guard at the site of a terrorist attack near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the capital city of Pakistan’s south Sindh province, Oct. 7, 2024. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep shock and sorrow on Monday over the attack on a Chinese national convoy in the country’s southern port city of Karachi on Sunday night, which resulted in the deaths of two Chinese citizens and left another injured.

This photo taken on Oct. 7, 2024 shows a destroyed car at the site of a terrorist attack near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the capital city of Pakistan’s south Sindh province. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep shock and sorrow on Monday over the attack on a Chinese national convoy in the country’s southern port city of Karachi on Sunday night, which resulted in the deaths of two Chinese citizens and left another injured.

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‘Karachi blast targeted Pak-China ties’

Officials believed that the motive of Tuesday’s attack was to sabotage Pakistan and China relations and they suspect the involvement of a foreign hostile agency….reports Asian Lite News

 Investigators have said the suicide bombing at the Karachi University Confucius Institute that killed three Chinese academics and their local van driver was aimed at sabotaging ties between Islamabad and Beijing, the media reported.

The Karachi Police’s Counter-Terrorism Depart�ment has registered a case on behalf of the state at the Mobina Town police station on murder and terrorism charges against two commanders of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Dawn news reported.

Officials believed that the motive of Tuesday’s attack was to sabotage Pakistan and China relations and they suspect the involvement of a foreign hostile agency.

CTD official Raja Umar Khattab said that the suicide bomber, identified as Shari Baloch alias Brimash, was born in Turbat in 1991.

She was married and had two children.

He said that her husband, Dr Haibatan, originally hailed from Kech, was currently doing a public health course at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and was staying at a nearby five-star hotel.

However, his wife lived in Gulistan-i-Jauhar with her children.

He said that she and her husband had left their places a week before the attack and the husband’s whereabouts were not known. Raids were being carried out to find the husband and other facilitators, he said.

The CTD official also clarified that the suicide bomber was not a student of KU. He said she got all her education up to university level in Balochistan and later she was employed as a government schoolteacher.

The officer added that the outlawed BLA had claimed responsibility for the attack and shared details about the attacker on their social media platforms.

The complainant said through intelligence sources, he came to know that the banned BLA Majeed Brigade had claimed responsibility for the blast.

The SHO said BLA Majeed Brigade militant commanders Bashir Zaib and Rehman Gul and others were involved in the attack, Dawn reported.

The BLA wanted to undermine relations between Pakistan and China and get publicity for their outlawed outfit through terrorist acts, the FIR added.

Furthermore, there was a strong possibility that a hostile foreign agency was also involved in it, it said.

ALSO READ: Karachi blast: Cops had intel about attack

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Who’s that ‘bomber woman’ behind Karachi blast?

When Shari Baloch aka Baramsh posted a good-bye message on her Twitter handle some 10 hours ago before the attack, no one was really aware of what she was going to do next…reports Asian Lite News

The suicide bombing at the University of Karachi which claimed four lives on Tuesday — three Chinese nationals and one Pakistani citizen — has been gaining attention, not just because it targeted foreigners, but for the fact that the bomber was a woman, Express Tribune reported.

What is even more surprising is the accomplished academic and strong family background of the attacker.

When Shari Baloch aka Baramsh posted a good-bye message on her Twitter handle some 10 hours ago before the attack, no one was really aware of what she was going to do next, Express Tribune reported.

It was on Tuesday when Pakistan found out that another three Chinese nationals had been targeted for their presence in Pakistan.

Those fuelling the insurgency in the restive Balochistan province are not unknown to anyone, but the background of the bomber in question merits some questioning.

It wasn’t an overnight indoctrination or a sudden urge, but by all possible means an act well-thought-out.

Shari was a primary school teacher in her native Kech district in Balochistan. She completed her B.Ed in 2014 and M.Ed in 2018. She did her Master’s in zoology from the University of Balochistan and MPhil from the Allama Iqbal Open University.

She left behind a daughter, Mahrosh, and a son, Meer Hassan, both five years old. Her husband is a dentist while her father served as a director in a government agency. Later, her father also served as a member of the district council for three years. Her brother-in-law is a lecturer.

The family is well-established, highly educated and known to be peaceful. One of her uncles is an author, a former professor and human rights campaigner, Express Tribune reported.

It may be difficult to know what exactly provoked her to join the Baloch armed struggle, but she remained a member of the Baloch Students Organisation (BSO-Azad) in her student life.

Importantly, none of her family members is missing or subjected to enforced disappearance except a fifth cousin who got killed during a military operation in 2018 in Kech.

The tactics to employ a woman in suicide bombings have raised some questions: Is the Baloch insurgency redefining itself? Why use females in such attacks now and not before? Were these women brainwashed or coerced? Express Tribune reported.

ALSO READ: Guterres condemns Karachi blast

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Guterres condemns Karachi blast

The Secretary-General on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a quick recovery…reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the attack in the University of Karachi in Pakistan that led to multiple deaths, said his Deputy spokesman.

“I can tell you the Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack in Karachi today,” said Farhan Haq, the Deputy spokesman.

The Secretary-General on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished those injured a quick recovery, he told a daily press briefing.

Haq said UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Pakistan, Julien Harneis, also strongly condemned the attack and was deeply saddened by the loss of life, Xinhua news agency reported.

Harneis said attacks that deliberately target education, teachers, and places of learning are particularly condemnable and sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, both in Pakistan and in China, according to the UN Deputy spokesman.

An explosion ripped through a shuttle passenger van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi on Tuesday, leaving three Chinese teachers dead, one Chinese teacher injured and causing several Pakistani casualties, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

ALSO READ: 3 Chinese nationals killed in Karachi blast

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15 dead in Karachi blast

The nature of the blast is being determined by the police but some media reports suggest the incident occurred due to gas leakage or detonation of explosives, reports Asian Lite News

The death toll in Pakistan’s Karachi blast has climbed to 15 as authorities are still trying to recuse people trapped under the debris of a building that collapsed after the explosion, local media reported on Saturday.

The blast happened in Karachi’s Shershah area, Pakistan Urdu news channel Samaa reported. A building that hosted a bank partially collapsed in the blast.

The Pakistani publication said that police and rescue officials rushed to the spot and the injured had been moved to a nearby hospital. Media reports say that several people are suspected to be trapped under the rubble.

The nature of the blast is being determined by the police who is investigating the blast. Some media reports suggest the incident occurred due to gas leakage or detonation of explosives.

Special Assistant to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf lawmaker Alamgir Khan’s father, Dilawar Khan, had also died in the blast.

“We share the grief of Alamgir Khan and other bereaved families,” Gill tweeted in Urdu. (ANI)