Chinese engineer survives bomb attack in Karachi

Chinese national and driver suffer minor injuries as roadside IED goes off; unnamed nationalist group opposed to CPEC claims responsibility

KARACH: A Chinese engineer and his driver were wounded in a bomb blast that occurred in the Steel Town area on Monday morning.

An unnamed nationalist organisation, opposed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), claimed responsibility for the attack through a pamphlet left at the scene.SSP Rao Anwaar of the Malir District said an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), planted opposite the Quaid-e-Azam Park near the Admore Petrol Pump, Adil Weigh Station, along the National Station, along the National Highway, exploded close to a 20-seater Hi-Ace (JF-7639), which was carrying Chinese national Finche to his workplace at the Port Qasim Plant from Gulshan-e-Hadeed. The Chinese engineer and the 25-year-old driver, Tariq Azizi, son of Abdul Sattar Jamal, suffered minor injuries from broken glass.

Police soon arrived and cordoned off the scene. They took the injured to a private hospital. Bomb Disposal Squad officials later arrived on the spot and said it was an IED blast. They said the bomb weighed half a kilogram and contained nut and bolts.

SSP Anwaar said police found a pamphlet left behind by the nationalist group, which claimed responsibility for the attack and said negative things about the CPEC. He suspected the involvement of the Shafiq Burfat nationalist group but said they would investigate all aspects. He said a hunt for the culprits was under way and they would soon be brought to justice.

Raja Umer Khattab of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said investigators would look into the involvement of banned organisations and nationalist groups. He added that an inspection of the area confirmed that criminal elements belonging to a nationalist group were present there and similar attacks had occurred in that locality and the adjoining areas in the past.

Khattab said it seemed that the terrorists had conducted surveillance of the Chinese engineer, who used the same route to go to his workplace every day. The DIG of East Range along with the SP Foreign Security Cell (FSC) also visited the scene and went to Hadeed Phase -1 where they met the Chinese personnel.

They directed that no Chinese person would move without proper security, while adequate security had already been placed by the FSC at their residence. All concerned were directed to ensure security of Chinese workers at their workplace.