KARACHI: Four people were killed on Friday as members of a separatist rebel group attempted to storm the Chinese Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, police said.
Security forces killed all three gunmen before they could enter the consulate. The attackers belonged to the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group fighting for independence from the Pakistani state and opposed to Chinese projects in the restive southwestern Baluchistan province.
“The terrorists couldn’t enter the main building due to timely action by law enforcement agencies,” Karachi police chief Dr. Amir Ahmed Shaikh said. “We will clear the area shortly.”
He confirmed two policemen and three attackers were killed.
“The consulate staff are completely safe,” police official Salman Waheed told Arab News. “We have found explosives and hand grenades, whereas further search is underway.”
The army’s media wing, ISPR, said terrorists attempted to enter the consulate after the attack.
“Three terrorists killed, all Chinese safe, situation under control,” ISPR said.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that “security institutions saved Karachi from a big conspiracy today.” He vowed the government would investigate the incident.
The consulate is in an area considered to be the city’s Red Zone and is heavily guarded.
Twitter suspended the official account of the BLA hours after the attack
Four killed as separatist rebels attack Chinese consulate in Karachi
Four killed as separatist rebels attack Chinese consulate in Karachi
- Explosives and hand grenades found
- Consulate staff safe, say authorities
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
