Two Chinese nationals killed in attack by Baloch suicide bomber in Pakistan

KARACHI: Two Chinese nationals were killed and 17 people injured in a suicide attack by a Baloch insurgent group that targeted a convoy of Chinese workers near Pakistan's busiest airport here late at night, authorities said on Monday.

The explosion near the Jinnah International Airport Sunday night also killed the suspected suicide bomber. The attack is the latest in a string of violence against Chinese workers in Pakistan. It comes less than two weeks before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit to be held in the national capital.

The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the blast was a suicide attack targeting a convoy of Chinese engineers and investors leaving the Jinnah International Airport.

The attack occurred less than a mile from the airport’s main terminal. Authorities briefly suspended all traffic going to the airport.

The Chinese nationals were working at the Port Qasim Electric Power Company on the outskirts of the city and were returning home when their convoy was attacked, officials said.

"Initial investigations show that a small vehicle was used to carry out the suicide attack when the vehicle carrying the Chinese nationals reached the main signal near the Karachi Airport,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Asif Sheikh said.

He said that it appeared that the vehicle used by the suicide bomber had explosives and as soon as it hit the target it exploded.

"It appears they were planning this attack since last year," he added.

The Chinese embassy confirmed that two of its nationals had died and another was injured, along with “some local casualties”.

"Three bodies were brought to the hospital and two of them are Chinese nationals,” surgeon Dr Summaiya at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College (JPMC) said.

A senior police official at the Counter Terrorism Department said the third body could be that of the suicide bomber.

SSP Malir Kashif Abbasi said the investigators identified the suicide bomber as Shah Fahad, a resident of Noshki in Balochistan.

"Initial investigations with the help of evidence and clues found at the explosion site and remains of the car used in the bombing confirmed that the perpetrator was from Balochistan,” Abbasi said.

“What is intriguing is that Fahad had visited Karachi last year in December as well and returned to Balochistan. This time he and two of his accomplices checked into a hotel on October 4 in the Saddar area,” he said.

Another senior official of the counter-terrorism department said that Fahad had links with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army Majeed brigade group.

The investigators have also found the owner of the car who sold it to Fahad in September when it was also registered.

Another police official said that the explosion was heard far and wide in the city and an oil tanker which was at the signal had also caught fire and exploded.

“It was the tanker explosion which caused so many injuries and damage to at least a dozen vehicles in the close range,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the attack a "heinous act" and offered his condolences to the Chinese people. "Pakistan stands committed to safeguarding our Chinese friends," he wrote on X.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was "deeply shocked" by the attack.

"The Chinese side has requested Pakistan to make every effort to rescue the injured and handle the aftermath, get to the bottom of the incident swiftly, hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"China also demanded efforts to effectively close the security loopholes, and more targeted measures to provide full protection for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan," it said in a statement.

Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) on Monday said the terror attack near the Karachi airport would not “go unpunished”.

“This deplorable act of terrorism is an attack not only on Pakistan but also on the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China. We remain resolute in bringing to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack, including the Majeed Brigade," the FO said in a statement.

"Pakistan’s security and law enforcement agencies will spare no effort in apprehending the perpetrators and their facilitators. This barbaric act will not go unpunished,” it said.

Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The Chinese embassy on Monday asked its citizens and Chinese enterprises in Pakistan to be vigilant and to "do their best to take safety precautions". It also asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the incident and "severely punish the murderer".

In a statement, the Pakistan Airport Authority said that airport buildings and assets remained safe in the incident. Flight schedules at the airport are continuing as normal.

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting CPEC projects.

The BLA accuses China and Islamabad of exploitation of the resource-rich province, a charge rejected by the authorities. It has fought a long-running insurgency for a separate homeland.

The group in the last two years carried out similar suicide bomb attacks in Karachi targeting foreign nationals.

The BLA in March this year claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pakistani naval air base near China-run Gwadar port.

In April 2022, the group killed three Chinese tutors and a Pakistani driver in a suicide bombing near Karachi University's Confucius Institute.

In November 2018, gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi.