A preliminary report on the recent explosion near Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport suggests that a foreign intelligence agency aided in the attack. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) submitted this report to the anti-terrorism court, indicating that the suicide bombing targeted Chinese engineers as part of a broader conspiracy to undermine Pakistan-China relations.
On Sunday, a suicide bomber from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) attacked a convoy of Chinese workers, resulting in the deaths of two Chinese nationals and injuring 17 others. The explosion, which also killed the suspected bomber, occurred near the airport as the Chinese nationals were returning from work at the Port Qasim Electric Power Company.
The report detailed that an unidentified terrorist parked a vehicle close to the convoy before detonating the explosives. Police arrived at the scene to find multiple injured individuals, including police and Rangers personnel. The CTD’s report includes charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, use of explosives, and terrorism.
Initial investigations revealed that 70 to 80 kg of explosives were used in the attack. In response to the incident, China has dispatched an inter-agency working group to Pakistan to assess the situation.
Balochistan, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has a history of violent insurgency, with Baloch groups frequently targeting projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The BLA has claimed that both the Chinese government and Islamabad exploit the resource-rich province, a charge that authorities dispute. The group has conducted similar suicide bombings in Karachi over the past two years, primarily targeting foreign nationals.
