The recent suicide bomb attack on the Confucius Insitute in the University of Karachi in Pakistan shows that the heavy-handedness with which Islamabad chose to deal with Baloch insurgency has come to haunt Pakistan and also its newly elected government.
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The BLA claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday where three Chinese citizens were killed. It said that the attack was carried out by 30-year-old Shaari Baloch, who detonated the suicide bomb in front a bus and another motorist outside the University of Karachi. The incident was also captured in the CCTV cameras in the campus.
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Following the blast, Habitan Bashir Baloch, a man claiming to be the suicide bomber’s husband put out a tweet congratulating her for her act. “Shari Jan,your selfless act has left me speechless but I am also beaming with pride today. Mahroch and Meer Hassan will grow into very proud humans thinking what a great woman their mother was. You will continue to remain an important part of our lives,” the man tweeted.
Shaari Baloch held a Masters degree in Zoology and MPhil in education and was working as a teacher. According to journalist Bashir Ahmad Gwakh, she met Baloch insurgents two years ago and volunteered to go on such a mission. He also pointed out that Shaari came from a well-educated family and was not in touch with armed insurgents. Gwakh said that the suicide attack should concern Pakistani security agencies as well as the government and they should think if this is the beginning of a new chapter of Baloch insurgency.
The attack also shows that Baloch residents – who have often gained sympathy from the west and other parties due to Pakistan’s ill-treatment of all minorities – are not open to Chinese investments in their region.
Balochistan province and surrounding areas are vital to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative BRI) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) but the Chinese investments in the area were met with opposition from the locals.
The Chinese foreign ministry urged Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif to conduct a thorough probe into the incident. Sharif visited the Chinese embassy in Pakistan on April 26 to express his condolences. He said that no force could undermine Pakistan-China friendship.
Attacks and kidnappings of Chinese citizens and engineers working in Balochistan with Chinese telecom companies earlier in 2021. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the separatist group from Western Pakistan’s Balochistan, were the ones who orchestrated the arson. The separatist group alleges that Huawei, Netcom, Exeleron and ZTE were setting up a communications network which would spy and trace Balochistan’s citizens.
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