Terrorists opposed to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road mega-project claim responsibility for killing 4 at Chinese consulate in Pakistan
- Three assailants threw grenades and engaged in an hour-long shootout with police at China's consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday morning.
- A Pakistani father and son, two police officers, and the attackers all died in the shootout.
- The Balochistan Liberation Army, a Pakistani insurgent group opposed to China's economic presence in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
- The militant group seeks independence for the resource-rich Balochistan province and accused the Pakistani government of favoring Chinese infrastructure projects in the region.
- Pakistan is one of China's largest allies in its Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to link 70 countries around the world through trade.
Four people, including two police officers, were killed after armed militants hurled grenades and engaged in a shootout at China's consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday morning.
The three assailants first opened fire at consulate guards and threw grenades, then breached the main gates and successfully entered the building, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing Pakistani police.
Law-enforcement officers killed all three attackers in a shootout that lasted for about an hour.
The two civilian victims were a Pakistani father and son who went to the consulate to collect their visas to China, the AP said. They died in the shootout.
The assailants, police officers who died, and civilian victims have not been named.
All the Chinese diplomats and consular staff were not harmed during the attack, police said.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a Pakistani insurgent group, claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred about 9:30 a.m. local time. Police have not yet identified the assailants.
A Twitter account associated with the group said that three of its members had "embraced martyrdom," according to The New York Times.
Balochistan is at the center of China's plan to link 70 countries around the world through investment and infrastructure projects, known as the Belt and Road Initiative. It is considered President Xi Jinping's pet project, and China is estimated to have invested between $1 trillion and $8 trillion in those projects since 2013.
Separatists from the province have for decades campaigned against the Pakistani government and what they see as its unfair exploitation of its resources, including natural gas and minerals, Reuters reported. They also want to turn the province into an independent state.
The BLA has also accused Islamabad of taking over land belonging to indigenous people, and prioritizing Chinese projects.
Jiand Baloch, a spokesman for the BLA, told Reuters after Friday's attack: "China is exploiting our resources."
The port city of Karachi, where the attack took place, is Pakistan's largest city and a financial hub. It has experienced waves of political and social unrest for years.
Pakistan is one of China's biggest partners in the Belt and Road project, with the two countries forming in 2013 the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a massive $62 billion partnership consisting of transport and energy projects.
Social media users shared videos and photos of smoke, apparently from Friday's attack, billowing into the air from the consulate.
Ameer Ahmad Sheikh, a senior Pakistani police officer, also described hearing multiple blasts, but said it wasn't clear what they came from.
Police also said they found a suicide vest, and are working to identify the assailants from their fingerprints, the Associated Press reported.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered an inquiry into the attack, saying in a statement: "Such incidents will never be able to undermine Pak-China relationship."
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