ISLAMABAD: Two Chinese nationals who were killed in an explosion near Pakistan’s Karachi international airport on Sunday worked for a power plant, Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday.
It was the most serious attack against Chinese nationals in Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in March, which prompted Beijing to call on Islamabad to implement more stringent security measures.
The Chinese embassy in Islamabad and Pakistan’s foreign ministry have described Sunday’s blast as a “terrorist attack.”
In a statement emailed to journalists, separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the explosion was a suicide attack carried out by them, using a vehicle-borne bomb.
Pakistani media has reported that nearly a dozen people were injured in the blast.
A top security official in Islamabad told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the latest attack was a security failure and that all senior staff responsible for Chinese security in Karachi had been removed from service.
Pakistan’s interior ministry is primarily responsible for the Chinese nationals’ security.
There has been little information released about the identities of the Chinese nationals who were killed in a highly secured area of the southern port city.
“They were engineers who belong to those IPPs (Independent Power Producers) with whom we were negotiating tariff revision,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said in a video statement broadcast by local TV news channels.
Pakistan has been renegotiating contracts with independent power producers to rein in electricity tariffs as households and businesses buckle under soaring energy costs.
The Chinese embassy said a convoy from the Port Qasim Electric Power Company was attacked near the airport.
The BLA is one of many separatist militant groups, which seeks independence for the province of Balochistan, located in Pakistan’s southwest and bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
In August, it launched coordinated attacks in the province, in which more than 70 people were killed.
BLA specifically targets Chinese interests — in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit local resources. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
The port is part of Beijing’s $65 billion investment in Pakistan’s road and infrastructure building called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under President Xi’s Belt and Road initiative.
Chinese engineers killed in Pakistan worked for a power plant, says minister
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Chinese engineers killed in Pakistan worked for a power plant, says minister
- Pakistan has been renegotiating contracts with independent power producers to rein in electricity tariffs
- A top security official in Islamabad said the latest attack in southern city of Karachi was a security failure
Pakistan PM invites UAE investment across tech and resource sectors at National Day event
- Shehbaz Sharif says the UAE remains a key economic partner and continues to lend ‘critical support’ to Pakistan
- UAE envoy says both nations have potential for cooperation in renewable energy, AI and economic diversification
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ready to welcome investment from the United Arab Emirates across emerging technologies and resource sectors, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday, as both countries marked the 54th National Day of the Gulf country in Islamabad.
Speaking at the ceremony attended by senior ministers, diplomats and business leaders, Sharif said the UAE remained a key economic partner for Pakistan and continued to lend “critical support” to the country’s stabilizing economy.
“Pakistan takes great pride in its strategic partnership with the UAE, which continues to deepen across every domain of life,” he said. “With Pakistan’s economy stabilizing, we stand ready to welcome Emirati investment in renewable energy, AI, fintech, agriculture and minerals.”
Sharif praised the UAE’s leadership and recalled his earliest memories of the Gulf nation as “a land that believed in possibilities long before they became realities,” saying the country’s progress under President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan commanded “profound admiration.”
UAE Ambassador Salem Al Bawab Al Zaabi said the Emirates was committed to strengthening ties with Pakistan in areas including the economy, energy and artificial intelligence.
He said the two countries shared a “deep-rooted friendship built on mutual respect, shared values and a common vision for regional peace and development.”
“We see tremendous potential for collaboration in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, sustainability and economic diversification,” the ambassador said, adding that the UAE aimed to broaden the scope of its economic relations with Pakistan.
The UAE hosts around 1.8 million Pakistani expatriates, one of the country’s largest overseas communities, who Sharif said contributed “tirelessly” to the Gulf state’s development.
Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also joined the UAE ambassador in a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion.
