The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan has reportedly filed an FIR against Dr. Haibatan Baloch, the husband of Karachi University (KU) attacker Shari Baloch, for ‘financing’ the attack that killed three Chinese nationals at the University of Karachi. The CTD has also named a few friends of Haibatan in the FIR after a recent investigation on the Karachi attack.
According to reports, the FIR filed in CTD station by Inspector Sanaullah, claims that Dr. Haibatan Baloch and a few of his friends had allegedly funded the deadly attack which his wife, Shari Baloch carried out targeting the Chinese nationals in the Confucius Institute of the University of Karachi.
The authorities say the investigations are in full swing to apprehend the accomplices of Shari Baloch and uncover the network responsible for the attack. The police have also uncovered CCTV footage that shows Haibatan Baloch and his children leaving their flat just two days before the attack. Since then, they have not been seen. Authorities have been trying to locate them for the past several weeks, but the efforts have not borne any fruit.
Analysts argue the “successful” deadly attack targeting Chinese nationals in Karachi was a blow to the China-Pakistan relations – it had not only upturned the “false notion” of the foolproof apparatus security surrounding the movements of Chinese nationals in Pakistan but also showed the strong commitment and capability of the Baloch “pro-independence” groups in targeting the Chinese. Baloch “pro-independence” groups have issued numerous warnings to China since its involvement in Balochistan in 2015 and threatened that any Chinese presence and “expansionism” will be “crushed with brute force.”
The threats went unheeded and neither Pakistan nor China considered them seriously. The Baloch “pro-independence” groups went after Chinese officials, engineers and workers employed at the various development projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The attacks have killed tens of Chinese nationals, destroyed millions worth of Chinese-funded equipment and machinery and killed hundreds of Pakistani soldiers protecting them.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been particularly brutal in its attack on the Chinese. Majeed Brigade, the elite unit of BLA specializing in self-sacrificial attacks, has carried out several high-profile attacks; most of them targeting the Chinese nationals. The recent attack in Karachi was also carried out by the Brigade’s first female fighter. Hours after the attack, BLA issued a statement warning China to end its presence in Balochistan and claimed that it has hundreds of well-trained and fully-equipped male and female fighters ready to carry out such attacks.