Chinese Consulate in Karachi Attacked: At Least 2 Killed
Local Editor
At least two policemen have been killed in an armed attack on the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani coastal city of Karachi.
At least three assailants opened fire on the guards at the consulate gate while trying to enter the building, but they were killed before they manage to enter.
“There were three attackers and all three have been killed ... They could not even get in the compound. They tried to get into the visa section," said police Chief Amir Shaikh.
An exchange of fire erupted between the guards and the gunmen, which also resulted in the “killing two of our constables and critically wounding another,” said senior local police official Javaid Alam Odho.
A Pakistani naval official says China has not asked for military access to the Gwadar port.
Pakistani media showed smoke rising from the building and shots ringing out at the scene.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that all 21 Chinese staff inside the consulate are safe.
The separatist Pakistani group, the Balochistan Liberation Army [BLA], claimed the attack, saying, "There were three suicide attackers.”
China, which neighbors Pakistan, is a close ally and the country's main benefactor. Beijing has also promised to support Pakistan's economy when Prime Minister Imran Khan described in a "very difficult" situation in a visit to China earlier this month.
Khan said that his government has “inherited a very difficult economic situation," since assuming office in August.
On Friday, the prime minister ordered an inquiry into the attack which he said was part of a conspiracy aimed at undermining economic and strategic cooperation between the two nations.
"The Prime Minister has ordered a complete inquiry into the incident and has desired that elements behind this incident must be unearthed," Khan's office said in a statement.
"Such incidents will never be able to undermine Pak-China relationship," the statement added.
China is ploughing billions of dollars in loans and infrastructure investments into the South Asian nation as part of Beijing's vast Belt and Road initiative.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
