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 Air Force conducts ‘Exercise Golden Eagle’ to test combat readiness, agility
- The exercise follows an intense, four-day Pakistan-India military conflict in May 2025
- It focused on AI-enabled operations integrating disruptive technologies, military says
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has conducted “Exercise Golden Eagle” that successfully validated its combat readiness and operational agility through synchronized employment of the PAF’s complete combat potential, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.
It comes months after Pakistan’s four-day military conflict with India in May, with Islamabad claiming victory in the standoff after the PAF claimed to have shot down at least six Indian fighter aircraft, including the French-made Rafale. New Delhi acknowledged some losses but did not specify a number.
The exercise was conducted on a Two-Force construct, focusing on AI-enabled, net-centric operations while integrating indigenous niche, disruptive and smart technologies in line with evolving regional security dynamics, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Operating within a robust Integrated Air Defense System, friendly forces shaped the battlespace through seamless fusion of kinetic operations with cyber, space and electro-magnetic spectrum operations.
“The kinetic phase featured First-Shoot, First-Kill swing-role combat aircraft equipped with long-range BVR air-to-air missiles, extended-range stand-off weapons and precision strike capabilities, supported by Airborne Early Warning & Control platforms and Air-to-Air Refuelers,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“A key highlight of the exercise was Manned–Unmanned Teaming, with deep-reach killer drones and loitering munitions operating in a highly contested, congested and degraded environment, validating PAF’s capability to conduct high-tempo operations in modern warfare.”
In recent months, many countries have stepped up defense engagement with Pakistan, while delegations from multiple nations have proposed learning from the PAF’s multi-domain air warfare capabilities that officials say were successfully employed during the May conflict.
“The successful conduct of Exercise Golden Eagle reaffirms Pakistan Air Force’s unwavering commitment to maintaining a high state of operational preparedness, leveraging indigenous innovation and effectively countering emerging and future security challenges,” the ISPR added.
