At least four people, including three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, were killed and several others injured on Tuesday when a car exploded on the premises of the University of Karachi, the Pakistan media reported. Initial reports suggest that the blast took place in a van near Confucius Institute in the university.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack. It claimed a woman suicide bomber Shari Baloch alias Bramsh carried out the attack. This is the first major attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan since the bombing of a bus at Dasu in the northwest in July 2021, which killed nine Chinese nationals.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the initial investigation suggests it may have been a suicide bomber. He said closed-circuit television footage from the site showed a person dressed in the female burqa head-to-toe covering walking up to the van, followed by an instantaneous explosion.
The three dead Chinese included the director of the Chinese-built Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language graduate classes, and two teachers. The fourth fatality was the Pakistani driver of the van, the officials said.