Two Taiwanese citizens have been killed in Karachi, Pakistan, as a result of an explosion close to Jinnah International Airport.
The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said “many Pakistani personnel were killed and injured” in the blast, which happened around 23: 00 local time ( 17: 00 GMT ). The total death toll is still undetermined.
A fleet of Chinese designers working on a power job in the nation’s Sindh province was the target of the explosion, according to the embassy.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army ( BLA ), which has recently launched attacks on Chinese citizens involved in projects, has taken responsibility for the attack.
In a statement released on Monday, the violent party said it had “targeted a high-level fleet of Chinese engineers and buyers” arriving from Karachi aircraft.
The designers are a part of Port Qasim Power Generation Co Ltd, a company that is funded by China and aims to construct two fuel power plants in Port Qasim, near Karachi.
The plant is part of the China-Pakistan financial hall, which is also funding a number of facilities and power projects in Pakistan’s Balochistan state, which has a rich source of natural resources, including oil and minerals.
Along with other cultural Quetta groups, the BLA has waged a long-running insurgency for a distinct homeland.
It has frequently targeted Chinese citizens in the area, claiming that cultural Baloch people did not receive a share of the wealth that foreign investors had seized.
There has also been heightened security in Pakistan as it prepares to host the leaders’ summit of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The storm was apparently audible in a number of neighborhoods around the town, with footage from local media revealing heavy smoke and cars that had been set on fire.
A suspected improvised explosive device ( IED ) was likely to have caused the explosion, according to Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar.
A police surgeon, Dr Summaiya told Dawn news:” Ten injured persons, including one in critical condition, have been brought the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College ( JPMC)”.
A police officer and a person were among the injured, she added.
A “tanker truck” had exploded on Airport Road, according to a statement posted on X from the Interior Minister’s office in Sindh. The minister was in contact with the Malir Senior Superintendent of Police ( SSP) regarding the incident.
” We need to investigate the details”, the statement said.