KARACHI - A Chinese national and two others, including his driver, yesterday were slightly injured in a roadside explosion in the outskirts of the country’s commercial hub.
A Sindh-based separatist group, Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA), claimed responsibility for the attack as per a pamphlet recovered from the crime scene, said investigators. Interestingly, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar also made the same claims.
Chinese Engineer Finche, 25, along with his local driver Tariq Aziz was on his way in the van to work at Port Qasim when a low-intensity bomb, placed at green belt in Gulshan-e-Hadeed area of Bin Qasim, exploded, slightly injuring both of them and another and another person. The van was also partially damaged. Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Allah Dino Khawaja said that apparently, the attack was aimed to target the Chinese engineer. SRA, an ethnic Sindhi separatist group, left the pamphlet at the blast site, stating in Sindhi language “Destination Freedom”. It stated the plunderers have set their eyes on Sindh to enslave its people and capture its resources.
Bomb disposal squad’s experts also examined the blast site. “It was locally made improvised explosive device and the explosive material had been planted in a cemented block weighting around 500 grams,” explained a bomb disposal expert. He said it was a unidirectional bomb and a safety fuse device was used to explode the bomb. Since it was a low-intensity bomb, terrorists were unable to achieve their target, experts opined.
At least three suspects were taken into custody during a search operation by Rangers and police in Bin Qasim and nearby localities following the terrorist attack. They were shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation.
Over 3,470 Chinese nationals are working on 118 projects, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), in Sindh and Balochistan. The Sindh police have already constituted a special security cell comprising 2,000 personnel for the protection and security of the Chinese working on different projects in the province.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) decided in June last year to form special security cells in all the four provinces. There are more Chinese nationals in Sindh, especially in Karachi, than in other provinces, so there should be a force of 4,000 police officials for their security.
The Chinese engineer was targeted when he was on his way to his project, SEPCO-III in Port Qasim, as per routine,” explained SHO Ghulam Ahmed Shaikh. “Usually, these foreigners change their residences without informing police due to security threats.” The officer said the engineer along with five others had been recently shifted to a bungalow in Gulshan-e-Hadeed. The engineer and his driver were slightly injured and discharged after first aid at a 100-bed hospital in Steel Town.
Counter-Terrorism Department head Raja Omar Khattab said that all such separatist groups have links with a foreign agency of a neighboring country and usually carry out such sorts of attacks. He ruled out the possibility of the involvement of Taliban.
Karachi often witnesses several attacks on foreigners. A group of 11 Chinese engineers escaped a bomb attack in Clifton in May 2013. In July 2012, a bomb disposal squad defused a bomb planted in a motorcycle near the Chinese consulate.
NNI adds: At least three persons, including a Chinese national, were injured in a roadside bomb blast near Gulshan Hadeed area of Karachi, police said yesterday morning.
According to reports, the foreign national was travelling without official security. However, his personal security guard was accompanying him.
Reuters adds: The attack is likely to raise concern about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), involving $46 billion Chinese investment in roads, power plants, railway lines and a new port in Pakistan.
Pakistan, battling Islamist militants as well as separatist guerrillas in parts of the country, has promised to ensure security for the project.
A pamphlet, signed by a group called the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army, was found at the site, police said. “They want to attack Sindh and enslave its people,” the pamphlet said. The group was apparently referring to the China-Pakistan economic corridor.