ISLAMABAD: China has sent an inter-agency working group to join an investigation into last week’s bomb attack in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi that killed two Chinese nationals, Chinese state media reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesperson.
Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6, according to Pakistani and Chinese authorities. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Chinese nationals were targeted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that Beijing quickly sent an inter-agency working group to Pakistan as part of its response to the attack on a Chinese convoy of the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant that killed and injured Chinese personnel, Chinese state-run CGTN news channel reported.
“After arriving in Islamabad on October 8, the working group immediately joined the Embassy in Pakistan and the company concerned in the emergency response,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the English-language news channel.
“The working group met intensively with heads of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and military, police and intelligence departments, and asked the Pakistani side to properly handle ensuing matters, make every effort to save the injured, conduct thorough investigations, bring all the perpetrators to justice, and step up security measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.”
Pakistan strongly condemned the attack and is fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the incident and nailing down the perpetrators, according to the spokesperson. Islamabad has said it will further strengthen security measures and make all-out efforts to protect Chinese interests in Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week met Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and assured him of personally overseeing investigation into the militant attack and promised that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The Chinese ambassador expressed confidence in the Pakistani government’s “effective investigation, prompt identification of the responsible terrorists, and their swift punishment,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sunday’s attack is the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. Baloch militants blame the Pakistani state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge denied by state authorities.
The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
Beijing sends team to Pakistan to join probe into Karachi bombing that killed two Chinese
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Beijing sends team to Pakistan to join probe into Karachi bombing that killed two Chinese
- Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the bomb attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6
- Pakistan fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the attack and nailing down the perpetrators, Chinese foreign ministry says
Pakistan military says ex-PM Khan’s narrative has become ‘threat to national security’
- Military spokesperson responds to Khan’s fresh criticism of Pakistan’s powerful army chief, whom he accuses of denying him basic rights
- Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warns army will “come bare knuckle” if Khan and his party do not desist from attacking military leadership
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that former prime minister Imran Khan’s narrative against the armed forces has become a “national security threat,” warning him and his party to keep the army out of political statements.
Chaudhry’s criticism comes in response to Khan’s latest statement, released by his account on social media platform X on Thursday, in which he blamed Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir for “the complete collapse of the constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
Khan, who was ousted via a parliamentary vote in April 2022, blames the country’s powerful army for colluding with his political rivals to keep him away from power. He blames the military and the incumbent government for keeping him in solitary confinement in a central prison in Rawalpindi. Pakistan’s military and the government have strongly rejected his claims.
“It may seem to you a bit strange coming from me this because that person [Khan] and the narrative he is pushing, it has become a national security threat,” Chaudhry told reporters at a news conference.
“And that is why it is very important that we come clear, without any ambiguity, without any doubt. We need to come clear and we need to say what needs to be said,” he added.
Throughout the press conference, Chaudhry kept referring to the former prime minister as a “mentally ill” person. He played video clips of Indian news channels and Afghanistan’s social media accounts promoting Khan’s statements against the military.
“Why would they not do it? Because sitting in your country, a mindset, a mentally ill person sitting here is saying these things against the military and its leadership,” he said.
The military spokesperson warned Khan and his party against criticizing the military. He added that while the military welcomes constructive criticism, it should be kept away from political statements.
“If someone for the sake of his own self, his delusional mindset and narcissistic thinking attacks this armed forces and its leadership, then we will also come bare knuckle,” he warned.
“There should be no doubt on that.”
Khan, who remains in prison on a slew of charges that he says are politically motivated, continues to be popular among the masses.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has frequently led rallies to demand his release from jail, including one in May 2023 and another in November 2024 that saw clashes with law enforcement personnel.
While the former prime minister continues to remain behind bars, rallies organized by the PTI still draw thousands of people across the country and his party still enjoys a sizable following on social media platforms.
