Four people killed in merciless attack on Chinese consulate in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan – Armed separatists stormed the Chinese consulate in Karachi, a port city in southern Pakistan, on Friday, sparking an intense shootout in which two Pakistani civilians, two police officers and three attackers were killed. killed, one of whom was wearing a lifejacket, Pakistani officials said.

The indiscriminate assault, claimed by a militant group in the southwestern Baluchistan province, reflected the separatists' attempt to interfere in Pakistan's close ties with China's main ally, China, which has heavily invested in road and transport projects Baluchistan.

The Baluch Liberation Army said that it was fighting "the Chinese occupation" and released pictures of the three attackers.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China would not give up its latest big project in Pakistan – the Sino-Pakistani economic corridor – and said it was confident that Pakistan could provide security. China has nevertheless asked Pakistan to strengthen the security of the mission.

Authorities said the dead civilians were a father and a son who came to get their visas for China. Diplomats and consulate staff were not injured and were evacuated to a safe place, said a senior police official, Ameer Ahmad Sheikh. A spokeswoman for Jinnah Hospital said that a consulate guard had been injured and was being treated there.

The attack began shortly after 9 am, when the consulate was open. The militants opened fire on the consulate guards and threw grenades, crossing the main gate and entering the building, said Mohammad Ashfaq, a local police chief.

Pakistani security forces quickly surrounded the area. Local TV stations broadcast images of the building's rising smoke, which also serves as a residence for diplomats and other Chinese personnel.

Several explosions were heard soon after, but Sheikh could not say what they were. The shooting lasted about an hour.

"Due to a quick response from the guards and the police, the terrorists were unable to reach the diplomats," said Sheikh after the fighting ended. "We have completed the operation."

He added that the authorities would try to identify the attackers through fingerprints.

Chinese spokesman Geng said that the attackers had not entered the consulate and that the exchange of fire had taken place outside the building. The divergence with Pakistani officials' reports could not be immediately reconciled.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met by phone with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and assured him that a "thorough investigation will be conducted to apprehend the culprits, their financiers, their planners and facilitators ", in connection with the attack on the consulate, according to the news agency. a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yi reportedly said the attack was an attempt to influence relations between Pakistan, China and the economic pact of the two countries.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and paid tribute to the Karachi police and paramilitary rangers for their courage. He ordered an investigation and promised that such incidents could never undermine relations with China, which are "more powerful than the Himalayas and deeper than the sea of ​​Arabia".

So far this year, the Baluch Liberation Army has claimed 12 attacks against security guards responsible for the security of projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and its infrastructure. In a letter dated August 15, the group issued a letter warning China against "the exploitation of Baluchistan's mineral wealth and the occupation of Baloch territory." This letter was addressed to the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan.

Amir Rana, executive director of the Independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, said he did not think Friday's attack would have a significant impact on Chinese projects in Pakistan, as both countries have calculated the risks. for the safety.

"These threats were already on the radar of the threat from Pakistan and China," Rana said.

Nevertheless, the attack will force China to strengthen security in Pakistan and strengthen cooperation with local authorities, said Zhao Gancheng of the Shanghai Foreign Studies Institute.

"As more and more Chinese go abroad and more and more Chinese investments go abroad, the security situation in destination countries has become a reality. very important element to take into account, "Zhao told the Associated Press.

The Baluchistan separatists have been fighting a low-intensity insurgency in Pakistan for years, demanding a greater share of the province's wealth and natural resources. Karachi, the capital of Sindh province on the Baluchistan border, is home to several militant groups, including Baluch separatists.

In a rare statement about the attacks in Pakistan, neighboring India condemned the assault on the Chinese consulate, saying that "there can be no justification for an act of terrorism".

New Delhi also said: "The perpetrators of this heinous attack must be brought to justice quickly."

Pakistan has long accused India of supporting Baluch separatists. The two countries have bitter relations and have waged two of their three wars in the controversial Kashmir region since independence from Britain in 1947.

Elsewhere in Pakistan on Friday, a powerful bomb in an open-air food market in a border province of Afghanistan killed 35 people and injured dozens of others, said a senior official. police, Tahir Ali.

Most of the victims of the attack in Klaya town, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, were a Shia Muslim minority. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Orakzai has been the scene of several attacks by activists in recent years, mostly from Sunni Pakistani militants, who insult Shia of apostates.

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