A vehicle carrying a Chinese national was attacked by unknown assailants in the Lyari area of Karachi on Tuesday, leaving the Chinese national and the security guards escorting him wounded. Balochistan Liberation Front, an armed “pro-independence” group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the “blatant Chinese intervention” in Balochistan and China’s “complicity” in the “barbaric” policies of Pakistan is unacceptable.
According to the details, the vehicle of the Solid Waste Management carrying a Chinese national was attacked by two unknown assailants on a motorbike in the Lyari area of Karachi. The Chinese national and the guards escorting him were wounded and the vehicle was also damaged. The wounded were shifted to the Karachi Civil Hospital.
The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the east zone Muhammad Nouman Siddiqui confirmed that the two attackers were on a bike and the Chinese national was visiting the area. He further said that a pedestrian was also injured in the attack. The Chinese nationals and the security guards did not receive any bullets, he said.
The “pro-independence” group Balochistan Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack in a media statement, saying that the Chinese intervention in Balochistan is tantamount to a “genocide.” The BLF said that if China or any other country abets Pakistani in its “barbaric” policies in Balochistan, the Baloch will have the right to defend themselves.
The BLF spokesperson reiterated the oft-repeated caveat: that the foreign investors must refrain from investing in Balochistan. He also advised the locals to distance themselves from the Chinese nationals.
Tuesday’s attack is one of the many similar attacks on Chinese nationals residing in Pakistan. A similar attack was carried out in March 2019 when a convoy of Chinese engineers and workers was attacked by the Baloch Liberation Army in Karachi. Several Chinese nationals were killed in the attack.
The BLA also carried out a self-sacrificial attack on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Dalbandin, Balochistan, in August 2018. A number of casualties were reported.
The most damaging attack on the Chinese nationals came in November 2018 when a self-sacrificial attack was carried out on the Chinese consulate in the Clifton area of Karachi. The fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army besieged the consulate for more than an hour and killed several people. The New York Times called the attack the “most significant attack on Chinese interests” in a media report.