One dead, two injured in targeted attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi — police

Security officials examine a vehicle that was carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on July 28, 2021. (AFP/FILE)
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Updated 28 September 2022
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One dead, two injured in targeted attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi — police

  • Armed attacker poses as dental patient in Karachi clinic, police say
  • Assailants hurt only Chinese-Pakistani dual nationals—police 

KARACHI, Pakistan: An armed attacker posing as a dental patient killed a Chinese-Pakistani dual national and injured two others at a clinic in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Wednesday, police said.

The dental clinic was run by one of the victims, Senior Superintendent of Police Asad Raza said in a statement.
The victims, identified by police as Dr Richard Hu, Mrs Margrate Hu and Ronald, were all Chinese-Pakistani dual nationals, Raza said terming the incident a targeted attack by a man in his early thirties.
"The assailant didn’t hurt Pakistanis," the statement said, adding that the victims had run the clinic in the area for a long period and did not face any apparent threats.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Chinese nationals have been targeted by Baloch separatist militants in recent years, and their attacks have picked up pace recently - most notably an attack on Chinese teachers in Karachi University earlier this year.
The separatists have warned the government of China that its nationals would be targeted if they did not withdraw commercial activities in the southwestern province of Balochistan, which the militants want to secede from Pakistan.


Pakistani stocks lose over 6,000 points due to heavy selling, regional tensions 

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Pakistani stocks lose over 6,000 points due to heavy selling, regional tensions 

  • KSE-100 index fell 6042.26 points or by 3.21 percent to close at 182,338.12 points, Pakistan Stock Exchange data states
  • Analysts say heavy selling triggered by Fauji Fertilizer Company’s earnings announcement, which fell short of expectations

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a massive drop of over 6,000 points on Thursday, which financial analysts attributed to heavy selling in the market and geopolitical tensions between Iran and the US. 

The KSE-100 index fell by 6042.26 points or 3.21 percent to close at 182,338.12 on Thursday evening, the PSX data showed, down from the previous close of 188,380.38 points.

The development took place as US President Donald Trump warned Iran this week that “time is running out” for the nation to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, following the steady build-up of US military forces in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Pakistani brokerage firm Topline Securities said equities witnessed a sharp sell-off in the stock market on Thursday, causing Pakistani stocks to plunge into a “severe downturn.”

“The steep decline was largely driven by Fauji Fertilizer Company’s (FFC) earnings announcement, which fell short of market expectations due to weaker-than-anticipated gross margins,” Topline Security’s Senior Equity Trader Naveed Nadeem said. 

Nadeem noted that the FFC, United Bank Limited (UBL), Engro Corporation (ENGROH), Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), and Hub Power Company (HUBC) collectively shaved 3,155 points off the benchmark index during the session.

Najeed Warsi, chief business officer at Al Habib Capital Markets, agreed. 

 “FFC’s [Fauji Fertilizer Company] below-expectation results didn’t help, triggering a sell-off,” he added. 

Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, said geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran triggered the selling activity as well as the central bank’s recent decision to keep policy rate unchanged.

“Geopolitical uncertainty and SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] status quo in the policy rates projecting high inflation played a catalyst role in selling activity at PSX,” he said. 

Pakistan’s central bank held its key policy rate unchanged ​at 10.50 percent on Monday, defying market expectations for further easing.