On Tuesday (April 26), a massive explosion took place near a vehicle outside the Commerce Department of Karachi University, Pakistan. It has now been reported that the blast was a suicide attack, the responsibility of which is claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army.
CCTV footage of the suicide bomber has been obtained in which the woman who has been identified as Shari Baloch can be seen blowing herself up as the van passes through the road. The woman can be seen standing near a turning where a white coloured van carrying officials of the Chinese Confucius Institute was attacked with the bomb. The slain victims include Huang Guiping, director of Confucius Institute, two other Chinese citizens including Ding Mupeng, Chen Sa and their local driver Khalid.
As per preliminary reports, the blast occurred around 2:30 PM. The Dawn reported that the vehicle was turning towards the Confucius Institute when the explosion took place. While rescue teams speculated a cylinder blast as the cause of the attack, Karachi Police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon’s assertion that it might be a suicide blast executed by a burqa-clad woman has come true.
A Twitter user from Pakistan has shared the picture of the suicide bomber who has attacked and killed Chinese officials outside the Karachi University.
The BLA has issued a statement following the attack, identifying the bomber as Shari Baluch or Bramsh and stating that she was the group’s first female bomber. The attack marks “a new chapter in the history of Baloch resistance,” the statement said.
This is not the first time that Chinese nationals have come under attack in a country known for its precarious security apparatus. Additionally, Balochistan has constantly been a boiling pot, with its inhabitants being involved in a continuous insurgency against Pakistan and have accused Islamabad of forcibly occupying their territory and using repression to squelch their dissent.
The first major attack on Chinese nationals took place in Pakistan at Dasu in the northwest in July 2021 that killed nine Chinese nationals. However, that attack wasn’t claimed by the Baloch militants. The Pakistani Taliban had claimed the attack in which 4 people had died.