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| India-Pakistan | ||
| Three foreign nationals dead, several injured in explosion near Karachi airport | ||
| 2024-10-07 | ||
| [GEO.TV] At least three foreign nationals died while 17 others sustained injuries in a huge explosion near Jinnah International Airport, Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , with Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar suspecting it to be an improvised bomb (IED) strike. Sources told Geo News that the sound of the earth-shattering kaboom was heard in different areas of the city, including Karimabad, Defence and Jamshed Road, with television footage showing massive thick clouds of smoke and a blazing fire from the site. All injured have been transferred to Jinnah hospital for emergency treatment. In a statement, Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) confirmed a huge explosion near the airport's traffic signal. Initial reports suggested that an oil tanker blew up, engulfing a number of vehicles present at the site, the police official said. Law enforcement agencies and firefighters have reached the spot. Rescue officials claimed that one person and several others have sustained injuries in the blast and shifted to hospital. Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon... Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has sought a detailed report from the Malir SSP regarding the incident. ''We need to ascertain the facts,'' the statement said, ordering authorities to provide best medical treatment to injured people. The CM also ordered to not block any roads leading to and from the 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 overall death toll is as yet unclear. The embassy added that the explosion targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a power project in the country's Sindh province. The separatist Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Liberation Army (BLA) - which has in recent years carried out attacks on Chinese nationals involved in projects - has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement released on Monday, the militant group said it had "targeted a high-level convoy of Chinese engineers and investors" arriving from Karachi airport. The Chinese embassy said that the engineers were part of the Chinese-funded enterprise Port Qasim Power Generation Co Ltd, which aims to build two coal power plants at Port Qasim, near Karachi. The plant is part of the China-Pakistan economic corridor, which is also funding a number of infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan's Balochistan province, which has a rich supply of natural resources, including gas and minerals. The BLA along with other ethnic Baloch groups has fought a long-running insurgency for a separate homeland. It has regularly targeted Chinese nationals in the region, claiming ethnic Baloch residents were not receiving their share of wealth extracted from foreign investors. The Chinese embassy on Monday reminded its citizens and Chinese enterprises in Pakistan to be vigilant and to "do their best to take safety precautions". The embassy added that it will thoroughly investigate the attack and "severely punish the murderer". There has also been heightened security in Pakistan as it prepares to host the leaders' summit of the Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
According to Pakistani officials, the vehicle of foreign nationals was the target of this attack. In recent months, armed attacks have surged in various parts of Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to statistics from the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, 74 people were killed and 166 others injured in armed attacks across the country in August of this year. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |