Another attack on Chinese workers in Pakistan

 

Gunman shot dead in failed attack on Chinese workers in Pakistan

• Police shot dead one attacker and another is on the run after they tried to attack a boatyard in the coastal city of Karachi

The Pakistani police have thwarted an attempted attack on Chinese workers in the coastal city of Karachi a week after Beijing demanded greater security for its citizens in the country.

Two militants described by police as “terrorists” attacked a boatyard owned by a Chinese company on Wednesday morning, according to the Pakistani division of Arab News.

There were around 31 Chinese workers on the site at the time of the attack.

Four policemen stationed at a checkpoint opened fire and killed one assailant, while his accomplice managed to escape, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn. One constable was hit in the leg by a bullet during the shoot-out.

Officials told Dawn that the incident occurred at the Dawood Jetty, where the workers were repairing ships.

They said the site did not form part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major infrastructure project between the two countries.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Chinese nationals have been targeted by terrorist groups over recent years.

In a meeting with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang urged them to help fight terrorism and protect Chinese interests, adding that Beijing hoped they “will enhance the protection of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects”.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi also met Qin and pledged more security for Chinese workers.

Well-educated Pakistani mother volunteered to suicide-bomb Chinese-language centre in Karachi

In July 2021, a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus carrying workers to the Chinese-funded Dasu Hydropower Project in northwestern Pakistan. Nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis were killed.

In April last year, a female suicide bomber from the Balochistan Liberation Army, a designated terrorist organisation, blew up a van carrying teachers at the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute, leaving four dead, including the school’s director Huang Guiping and a local driver.

Officials said at the time that the attack was intended to sabotage CPEC projects and to block foreign investment in Pakistan, and that “foreign forces” were suspected to be involved behind the scenes.

Following the attack Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told China’s then-premier Li Keqiang that he attached the highest importance to the safety and protection of all Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.