Baloch separatists claim attack in Karachi
KARACHI: A woman suicide bomber from a Pakistan separatist group killed four people, including three Chinese nationals, in an attack on a minibus carrying staff from a Beijing cultural programme at Karachi University on Tuesday.
The Baloch Liberation Army one of several groups fighting for independence in Pakistan’s biggest province - claimed responsibility, saying it was their first suicide attack by a woman assailant.
Chinese targets have regularly been attacked by separatists from Balochistan, where Beijing is involved in huge infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
Baloch separatists have long harboured resentment against lucrative mining and energy projects in the region, saying locals do not see the benefits and are being pushed off their land.
The “Baloch Liberation Army accepts responsibility of today’s self-sacrificing attack”, the group’s spokesman, Jeeyand Baloch, said in a statement published in English on Telegram.
The group released a picture of the woman they said was the bomber, naming her as “Shari Baloch alias Bramsh”. She is dressed in military fatigues and a cap, smiling broadly and raising two fingers.
Karachi police confirmed four people had died, including the minibus driver and three staff from the Confucius Institute.
China’s embassy in Islamabad said all three citizens killed in the attack were teachers at the institute, and that a fourth had been injured.
It also warned its nationals to pay close attention to security and “not go out unless necessary”.
“At the same time”, the embassy said in a statement, “all levels in Pakistan are requested to take practical and effective measures to do everything possible to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Pakistan and ensure that similar incidents do not occur again.”