Pakistan condemns ‘act of terrorism’ after blast kills Confucius Institute official, 3 others in Karachi
- A van carrying 4 people, including the director of Karachi University’s Confucius Institute, exploded after a suicide attacker blew herself up
- The blast was claimed by the Majeed Brigade, the suicide squad of the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, which has been behind recent attacks on Chinese workers
Police officials said two Chinese men and a Chinese woman were killed in the explosion near the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute. China’s network of Confucius Institutes in universities around the world offer a form of cultural outreach and Chinese language teaching overseas.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Majeed Brigade, the suicide squad of the Baloch Liberation Army – an ethnic Baloch separatist group responsible for several recent attacks on Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
01:41
3 Chinese staff of Confucius Institute killed in Karachi bomb attack
A spokesman for the University of Karachi identified the Chinese victims as Huang Guiping, the director of the institute, and Ding Mufang, a lecturer.
A third Chinese national named Chen Sai was killed along with the van’s Pakistani driver. Another Chinese national, Wang Yuqing, was injured, the university spokesman said, without offering details.
China’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the attack and “demanded” Pakistan punish the perpetrators, protect Chinese citizens and prevent such incidents from happening again.
“The blood of the Chinese people should not be shed in vain, and those behind this incident will surely pay the price,” it said in a statement.