Two Chinese nationals were killed and at least 10 people injured in a suspected suicide attack near Karachi airport in Pakistan.
A third body, not yet officially identified, is that of the attacker, according to our information.
The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said Sunday night's blast was a “terrorist attack” targeting a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a power project in Sindh province.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has carried out attacks on Chinese nationals involved in development projects in Pakistan in recent years, said it carried out the attack.
In a statement released Monday, the activist group said it had “targeted a high-profile convoy of Chinese engineers and investors” arriving from Karachi airport.
A later statement from the group described it as a suicide attack and named the perpetrator as Shah Fahad, a member of a BLA suicide squad called the Majeed Brigade.
The attack was carried out using a “vehicle-borne improvised explosive device”, Reuters news agency quoted the BLA as saying.
The explosion occurred around 11:00 p.m. local time (17:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the attack a “heinous act” and offered his condolences to the Chinese people.
“Pakistan is determined to protect our Chinese friends,” he wrote on X.
China's Foreign Ministry said it was “in close contact” with Chinese authorities and would “bring those responsible for this cowardly attack to justice.”
“This act of terrorism is an attack not only on Pakistan, but also on the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China,” the ministry said.
“This barbaric act will not go unpunished,” adds the text.
The Chinese Embassy said the engineers were part of the Chinese-owned Port Qasim Power Generation Co Ltd, which aims to build two coal-fired power plants at Port Qasim, near Karachi.
Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, many of them involved in creating an economic corridor between the two countries under Beijing's multi-billion Belt and Road initiative.
The Port Qasim power plant is part of the corridor, alongside a number of infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan's Balochistan province, which has a rich reserve of natural resources including gas and minerals .
The BLA, alongside other Baloch ethnic groups, has been waging a long-running insurgency to gain a separate homeland.
He has regularly targeted Chinese nationals in the region, saying ethnic Baloch residents were not receiving their share of wealth from foreign investment in the province and natural resources extracted there.
The Chinese Embassy on Monday reminded its citizens and Chinese businesses in Pakistan to be vigilant and “do their best to take safety precautions.” The embassy added that it hoped Pakistan would thoroughly investigate the attack and “severely punish the murderer.”
The explosion was reportedly heard in various areas of the city, with local media images showing thick smoke and cars being set on fire.
Online footage shows security officers and firefighters investigating the blast site, with several vehicles charred by the blast.
A police surgeon, Dr Summaiya, told Dawn News: “Ten injured people, including one in critical condition, were brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).”
She added that the injured included a police officer and a woman.
A statement issued on X by the Sindh Home Minister's office said a “tanker” exploded on Airport Road. Roads leading to Jinnah International Airport were closed following the attack, but the airport is operating as usual on Monday.
Security has also been tightened in Pakistan as the country prepares to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) leaders' summit.
Multiple attacks against Chinese nationals have taken place in Pakistan in recent years. The BLA has claimed responsibility for several of them, including an attack in March on a Pakistani naval air base near the port of Gwadar, another major part of the China-Pakistan economic corridor.
In April 2022, the group killed three Chinese tutors and a Pakistani driver in a suicide attack near the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi.
In November 2018, gunmen killed at least four people in an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi.
Additional reporting by Zahra Fatima, BBC News
