Karachi students mourn Chinese teachers killed in terror attack

A day after the terror attack at the Confucius Institute in the University of Karachi in Pakistan which killed three Chinese nationals and a local and injured another Chinese, Sichuan Normal University that co- hosts the institute urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice, as many Pakistani students mourned the victims.

The three Chinese teachers killed were Huang Guiping, the Chinese director stationed in the Confucius Institute, Ding Mufang and Chen Sai, a volunteer. Another teacher, Wang Yuqing, was injured.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press conference that the Tuesday incident was a suicide terror attack targeting Chinese citizens. It was very vile in nature for making teachers, the promoter of culture exchanges and carriers of human civilization, the direct target.

Wang reiterated that the blood of the Chinese people should not be shed in vain and China will work with Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the fatal blast, to express his condolences to the victims of the terrorist attack and vowed to do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators to justice, according to a release from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan.

Ramla, who is a student of Chen Sai, said that she heard about the blast yesterday but did not know the names of the victims. “We were concerned and asked where our teachers were. Are they OK?”

“She deserves a better life and should not end like this. She was in our country… she was a guest. To be honest, I feel ashamed,” Ramla said.

The attack also raised concerns over security in Karachi. Li Wei, an expert on national security at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, noted that there are disturbing terrorist activities, especially in Baluchistan Province.

The Baloch Liberation Army ( BLA), a militant separatist group, which took responsibility for the terror attack on Tuesday, has worked with local tribal forces in terror attacks, and use children and women strapped with bombs in suicide attacks, according to Li.

China and Pakistan can work together to counter terrorism, but it’s more important to remove the soil for extremism and terrorism, which can be realized by economic development with the CPEC, and this is why the two countries will continue to promote CPEC projects to bring promising future to locals, Li said.