Pakistani investigators examine a burnt-out van at the blast site in Karachi, Pakistan. The blast occurred in a van inside a university campus in southern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing several people, including Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, officials said.
A video has surfaced showing the horrific moment when a suicide bomber detonated outside Karachi University in Pakistan, killing at least four people.
The attack in the metropolis of Pakistan that claimed the lives of Chinese and Pakistani nationals is being seen as a targeted attack on Chinese nationals in the country.
According to details, the blast took place outside the Karachi University campus of IBA (Institute of Business Administration), at least three Chinese nationals and a driver were in a vehicle outside the campus building.
Police officials said investigation is underway and forensics will be taken along with the CCTV footage of the institute to ascertain the real cause of the blast.
The attack is claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned terrorist group operating from Balochistan province in Pakistan. The attack was carried out by a Baloch woman suicide bomber, who belonged to Majeed Brigade.
“The mission was carried out by Fidayi, the first lady of the brigade. Fidayi Shari Baloch aka Bramsh today added a new chapter in the history of Baloch resistance,” a press release issued by the BLA said.
“The Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army has accepted responsibility for today’s self-sacrificing attack on the Chinese in Karachi,” the BLA press release said.
This is the first attack in Pakistan by a female suicide bomber of the BLA, which has raised huge concerns over the security situation in the country, which has seen a major increase in terrorist attacks by various terrorist organizations including Baloch separatists and Tehreek-e-T. Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The explosion engulfed a car parked in flames, killing three Chinese civilians – a man and two women, and a driver now suspected of a targeted suicide bombing attack. It was executed by a burqa-clad female attacker.
The Chinese civilians killed included Zhang Xiaoping, director of the Confucius Institute, a Chinese language institute of the IBA. The other two Chinese nationals were also part of the faculty of the same institute.
Police officers, rangers and bomb disposal squad cordoned off the area and later confirmed that the blast in the vehicle was a terrorist attack.
“Clear marks of ball bearings can be seen on the vehicle, which confirms that it was a terror attack. It can also be seen that one side of the van is more damaged, which also indicates that the attack was a suicide. May have gone. The bomber which exploded after approaching the vehicle from one side,” said an eyewitness.
It can also be seen that there was no crater in the ground, which also makes it clear that the attack was not carried out by means of any improvised explosive device.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah contacted the police chief after the blast. The IGP told the chief minister that the blast took place in a van near the commerce department of the university.
The chief minister also ordered the Karachi commissioner to submit a report on the bomb blasts.
China’s growing influence, investments and presence in Pakistan have also been questioned and criticized by Western powers and have been targeted by various terrorist organizations in the past.
The latest attack targeting Chinese civilians has raised serious security concerns and challenges for Pakistan’s security forces.
read also , Finland, Sweden move closer to joining NATO by mid-May; What this means for Russia and its nuclear threat