Seven die as gunmen attack Pakistan Stock Exchange
KARACHI, Pakistan — A group armed with guns and grenades attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the city of Karachi on Monday in a bid to take hostages, killing two guards and a policeman before security forces killed all four attackers, security officials said.
Separatist insurgents from the troubled southwestern province of Balochistan claimed responsibility, a senior counterterrorism official, Raja Umar Khattab, said.
The Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter but Reuters could not verify the account. Spokesmen for the group were not available.
The police chief of Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city and financial hub, Ghulam Nabi Memon, told Reuters the gunmen attacked with grenades and guns after pulling up in a silver Corolla car. Two guards and a policeman were killed and seven people were wounded, deputy inspector general of police Sharjil Kharal told media.
An aide to Pakistan’s prime minister on national security matters, Moeed Yusuf, and the country’s foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, both said the attack was sponsored by hostile foreign elements.
Nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan often accuse each other of being behind cross-border attacks.
Pakistan has regularly blamed India for supporting Baloch separatists.
Delhi rejected the charge, which external affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava said was an attempt by Pakistan to blame India for domestic problems.