3 Chinese nationals among 4 killed in Pakistan blast

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – At least four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed in an explosion inside the premises of a state-run university in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday, police and rescue officials said.

The explosion targeted a van near the gate of Confucius Institute, a Chinese language learning center located inside the University of Karachi.

Muqadas Haider, a police official, told reporters that among the dead were three Chinese teachers, including two women. At least three others were also injured, he added.

According to city police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, it could be a suicide attack.

Television footage showed plumes of smoke billowing high from the van as security forces cordoned off the area.

The explosion also damaged many motorcycles parked nearby, as well as windowpanes of buildings close by.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but separatists in southwestern Balochistan province have in the past targeted Chinese nationals in the country.

All-weather allies Beijing and Islamabad cooperate in the multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which the Baloch insurgents see as an attempt to steal their resources.

Signed in 2014, the $64 billion project, part of Beijing's Belt and Road, aims to connect China's Xinjiang province to Gwadar port in Balochistan.