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KARACHI, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces have halted an attempt at a terrorist attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi on Friday morning, officials said after a long shootout around a security checkpoint.
Officials said the three attackers were killed and two policemen were dead. In the street, the police checkpoint could be seen pierced with bullet marks.
"They tried to enter the visa section but did not succeed," said Amir Shaikh, police chief of Karachi.
Police officials said at least one suicide vest was found and members of the explosives team were on the scene to clear the explosives. A wounded policeman was taken to a hospital near the scene of the attack.
A social network account claiming to be associated with the The Baluchistan Liberation Army, a separatist group from the sprawling and violent province of Balochistan, said the group had claimed responsibility for the attack and that it was directed against the Chinese consulate . A separate confirmation was not immediately available.
Amir Jan, a driver who was washing his car near the consulate, said he saw three men armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles heading for the consulate around 9:15 am, adding that he had thrown a grenade and opened fire.
The neighborhood, near the sea of Oman, is mainly residential and upscale, with many houses and restaurants. The gunshots could be heard several miles away and social media witnesses posted pictures of the smoke rising in the air. Schools in the area have been locked out.
Karachi, home to 15 million people, is the largest city in Pakistan and its economic power.
Pakistan has strengthened its economic ties with China in recent years. Beijing recently granted a $ 2 billion loan to consolidate its finances, a sum that followed the billion dollars granted by Chinese banks in April.
China has described Pakistan as a showcase for its extensive international development campaign, the Belt and Road Initiative. It is estimated that China has spent some $ 62 billion on projects in Pakistan, mainly in the vast and violent province of Balochistan.
But China is also subject to growing criticism in Pakistan, including on the treatment of Muslims of the Uyghur ethnic group in the Xinjiang region of China.
"A major international conspiracy has been thwarted by rapid security measures," federal minister Faisal Vawda told reporters in Karachi. "It was an attempt to sabotage our relations with China."
