Four people were killed in a suicide bombing at Karachi University

An explosion triggered by a burka-clad female suicide bomber ripped apart a van on the campus of Karachi University in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing three Chinese nationals and their driver, local officials said.

The Balochistan Liberation Army militant separatist group claimed responsibility for the bombing, which also wounded a fourth Chinese national and a Pakistani guard.

Karachi Police Chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said an initial investigation found a suicide bomber was behind the attack. He said CCTV footage from the site showed a person wearing a head-to-toe burqa walking toward the white van, followed by an explosion.

The Balochistan Liberation Army spokesman identified the suspected bomber as Shari Baloch, also known as “Bramsh,” and shared a photo of the young woman grinning and showing the “V” for victory sign, Republicworld.com reported.

A statement from the extremist group boasted that Baloch was the first female BLA bomber and that the attack marked “a new chapter in the history of the Baloch Resistance”.

The Chinese fatalities included Huang Guiping, director of the Confucius Institute set up in China, which offers Chinese language courses for college graduates, and two teachers, Ding Mupeng and Chen Sa.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan confirmed the deaths of three Chinese teachers in a so-called terrorist attack Tuesday night and said another teacher, identified as Wang Yuqing, was injured, Geo News reported.

“The Chinese Embassy and Consulate in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack, offer our deepest condolences to the victims of the two countries and sincere condolences to those injured and their families, and will make every effort to resolve the incident together with the Pakistani side deal with. ‘” said a statement on the embassy’s website.

The embassy urged Pakistan to “make every effort to treat the wounded, conduct a thorough investigation into the attack and severely punish the perpetrator.” It called on Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in the country.

Hours after the bombing, the US consulate in the port city of Karachi tweeted condemning the attack, saying: “This cowardly act stands in direct contrast to the peaceful spirit of Ramadan and we extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their families, those who lost their lives.” lost loved ones.”

In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attack and killing of Chinese in Karachi. “The cowardly incident is a direct attack on Pakistan-China friendship and ongoing cooperation,” it said, adding authorities are investigating the incident with a view to arresting those responsible and bringing them to justice.

Newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called the bombing “disgusting” and said: “The perpetrators will certainly be brought to justice.”

He also visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, along with Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, to offer condolences to Beijing over the killing of Chinese in Karachi.

The Balochistan Liberation Army, a militant group in nearby Balochistan province, has a history of targeting Chinese nationals in attacks.

Earlier this year, the separatists attacked two army bases in southwest Balochistan, killing seven soldiers and losing 13 of the attackers in an hour-long firefight with the Pakistani army.

The blast was the first major attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan since last year, when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus in northern Pakistan, killing 13 people, including nine Chinese.

Balochistan has long been the scene of low-level insurgency by armed Baloch groups demanding greater autonomy and a greater share of the region’s natural resources, if not full independence, from Islamabad.

However, the Pakistani Taliban have also targeted Chinese internationals in the past. Last July, the group — also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus that killed nine Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Four Pakistanis also died in this attack.

The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group from the Afghan Taliban, their allies, who have seized power in neighboring Afghanistan.

Thousands of Chinese workers live and work in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing’s billion-dollar One Belt One Road Project, which aims to connect South and Central Asia to the Chinese capital.

A major road linking Pakistan’s southern port of Gwadar in southwestern Balochistan province to China’s northwestern Xinjiang province is part of the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. The project includes a number of infrastructure projects and several energy projects.

With post wires