Suicide Attack in Karachi University and CPEC

 

A large explosion occurred inside the Karachi University premises in Pakistan, on Tuesday (April 26). It killed four people including two Chinese women and a man and also injured four.

The bombing targeted a white Hiace van near the gate of the Confucius department (In 2013, the University of Karachi and Sichuan Normal University in China collaborated to establish the Confucius Institute at University of Karachi (CIUK). CIUK is a non-profit educational institution whose mission is to promote folks exchanges between China and Pakistan by communicating Chinese, improving international awareness of Chinese language and culture, and communicating Chines) inside the varsity premises. There are the Chinese nationals are the part of the institute's faculty.

A white Hiace van was entirely burned following the explosion, with one side of the vehicle perforated with little holes

 

Who is Shari Baloch?

• Shari Baloch (Bramsh) is the first suicide bomber in BLA in Pakistan.
• She was a first year MPhil student of the University of Karachi and did her masters in education.
• She was a young female member in BLA and was living in a Flat on rent.
• She said goodbyes to her friends on Twitter at 12:10pm before attack.
• According to the bomb disposal squad, three to four kilos of explosives and with multiple steel ball bearing were used by Shari in the suicidal attack.
• She targeted the Chinese teachers of Karachi university.
• She imagined herself as a warrior fighting for the rights of Baloch people in Balochistan.
• She was a university student with no criminal history in her family.
• She was the mother of two children and her husband and sister are doctor.
• Her father is a retired officer from the 20th grade, and her siblings are also well-educated.
• This is the second female-led terrorist attack in Pakistan; the first occurred in the nineties.
• When she arrived at the university gate at 1:56 p.m. in Rickshaw, she was greeted by another woman dressed in a black gown and a white scarf. 
• Shari Baloch soon proceeded to the location, from  where the attack was planned.
• She waited there for the Chinese university teachers' van approximately nine minutes.

Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA)

The Balochistan Liberation Army or BLA, is most controversial organization in Pakistan, it is also known as an Afghan militant organization.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province with the fewest infrastructure, and it is plagued by issues such as law and order, education, missing persons, and many others. They are the people having tough times, and as a result, of such challenges, Pakistan's adversaries profit from it.

The BLA gained national attention in the summer of 2000, when it claimed responsibility for a series of bombing strikes against Pakistani authorities. BLA is declared as a terrorist organization running under the support of India and Afghanistan. Besides Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have all declared the BLA as a militant group.

Since 2004, the BLA has launched a violent armed struggle against Pakistan, claiming to be battling for the Baloch people's right to liberty and the secession of Baluchistan from Pakistan. It has also been implicated in terror attacks against non-Baloch minority in Baluchistan. The BLA and Pakistan Armed forces are at conflicts with each other.

The first serious attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan was a bus explosion in Dasu, northwest Pakistan, killed nine Chinese nationals and four national people in July 2021. The Baloch militants did not claim responsibility for the attack, later it was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The Chinese citizens have been targeted in the country known for its fragile security system. Furthermore, Baluchistan has long been a boiling cauldron, with its residents engaged in a continuous insurgency against Pakistan, accusing the federal government of forcibly taking their land and suppressing their opposition with repression.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

Thousands of Chinese employees live and work in Pakistan, the majority of them are involved in Beijing's multibillion-dollar "One Belt One Road Project," which aims to connect south and central Asia with Beijing.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a major road that connects Pakistan's southern port of Gwadar in southwestern Baluchistan region with China's northwest Xinjiang province. A number of infrastructural and power projects are included in the project.

CPEC and challenges

There are numerous steps taken by the government of Pakistan to ensure CPEC in various dimensions, ranging from bilateral to regional to worldwide integration. The most difficult task is protecting CPEC from terrorism and ongoing political unrest among different political parties and institutes in Pakistan; growing China-Pakistan military cooperation is taking place in the context of rising tensions between Pakistan and India.  on the other hand, remains resolute and ever ready in its will to confront all sorts of terrorist threats, as evidenced by the rapid response of security personnel in repelling the attack. Pakistan fully acknowledges the strategic significance of its relations with China and sees the CPEC as a win-win venture.