• PM Shehbaz assures envoy he will personally oversee investigation after Beijing demands swift action
• FO reiterates commitment to security of Chinese nationals; embassy says slain men worked at Port Qasim power plant
• Police conclude ‘vehicle-borne IED’ with 70-80kg explosives used in suicide attack that claimed three lives

ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: As Beijing demanded swift action against the perpetrators of a deadly bombing in Karachi that claimed the lives of two Chinese nationals, Pakistan on Monday vowed to track down the assailants, vowing that the ‘barbaric act’ would not go unpunished.

On Sunday, an explosion near the Karachi airport killed three people, including two Chinese citizens, and injured over a dozen. The attack was claimed by the Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army, a banned separatist outfit.

In a statement posted on X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured China that Pakistan was fully committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The premier visited the Chinese embassy on Monday, where he met Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and offered his heartfelt condolences over the loss of Chinese citizens’ lives in the terrorist attack in Karachi.

“An immediate investigation is underway to identify them and bring them to justice. Pakistan stands committed to safeguarding our Chinese friends. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure their security and well-being,” the PM said.

He said he would personally monitor the investigation and ensure that security arrangements for foreign nationals would be further strengthened.

The Foreign Office echoed the prime minister’s remarks, with spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch denouncing the attack as a “heinous terrorist act”.

At the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson assured that Pakistan’s security and law enforcement agencies were fully mobilised to track down the attackers.

“This barbaric act will not go unpunished,” she said, adding, “We will bring to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack, including the Majeed Brigade.”

She also affirmed that Pakistan was in close coordination with the Chinese embassy and reiterated the country’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions.

Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry called for a thorough probe and severe punishment for the perpetrators. “China is deeply shocked by the attack against Chinese citizens,” a spokesperson said in Beijing.

“The Chinese side has requested Pakistan to make every effort to rescue the injured and handle the aftermath, get to the bottom of the incident swiftly, hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” the spokesperson said. Beijing also called on Pakistan to plug security loopholes and take more targeted measures to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corr­idor.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan also issued a fresh alert, advising Chinese citizens and enterprises to heighten their security precautions. The embassy also confirmed that the slain nationals were staff members of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company (Pvt) Ltd.

The two recent incidents of the killing of Chinese workers at a hydroelectric power plant in Bisham and the deadly Karachi University bombing in 2022, which also targeted Chinese nationals, have led to Beijing’s increasingly stringent demands.

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In response, China pressured Pakistan to provide compensation to the victims’ families and ensure improved security measures.

This shift in China’s stance became more pronounced after the Karachi University bombing, with Chinese leaders stating that future cooperation on major projects hinged on Pakistan’s ability to address security concerns.

The attack comes days before the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisa­tion conference being held in Islamabad from Oct 15 to 16.

Vehicle-borne IED suicide blast

Investigators probing the powerful explosion near the Karachi airport concluded that it was a vehicle-borne IED suicide blast.

Police sources, citing initial findings, said that bomb disposal experts had submitted their report, disclosing that “approximately 70-80-kg commercial explosive” was used to target the Chinese nationals.

The sources said that the alleged suicide bomber was identified as Shah Fahad, a resident of Naushki in Balochistan.

He had come to Karachi on Oct 4 and stayed at a hotel in Saddar, which he left on Sunday around noon.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn that the bodies of two Chinese nationals were brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre early on Monday morning and autopsies were carried out.

She added that the mutilated remains of an unidentified person, said to be the bomber, were also brought to the hospital and an autopsy was conducted while DNA samples were also taken.

Dr Syed identified the slain Chinese nationals as Sichuan, 35, and Chuanxin, 41.

According to the Sindh government’s Rescue 1122 official Hassaan Khan, seven vehicles that caught fire after the blast were completely destroyed.

On the other hand, the Sindh chief minister, while chairing a meeting attended by top officials of police and other law enforcement agencies, ordered the formation of a joint committee to probe the incident.

Naqvi visits Chinese embassy

Against the backdrop of the deadly bombing, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also visited the Chinese embassy on Monday to brief the envoy about the blast and the subsequent investigation.

The minister described the blast as an attack on the Pak-China friendship and made it clear that it would not be tolerated.

During his meeting with Chinese envoy Jiang Zaidong, the interior minister said the security of the Chinese brethren working for the development of Pakistan was his government’s top priority.

Iftikhar A. Khan in Islamabad also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2024