Pakistan: An explosive-laden vest was detonated by a suicide bomber near a van carrying Japanese autoworkers in Karachi, Pakistan’s southern port city. Police reported that three bystanders were injured as a result of the explosion.
Local police chief Arshad Awan confirmed that the five Japanese nationals were employees of Pakistan Suzuki Motors. Their van was bombarded while heading to the industrial area where the company was located. The assault was unexpected and occurred before the van could reach its destination.
Awan further said that five autoworkers were not harmed and three injured people are in stable condition at the hospital. Two security guards were patrolling in a bullet-proof van after obtaining information about potential attacks on foreigners functioning in Pakistan on varied Chinese-financed and additional projects.
According to the police force, a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle exploded his vest, while another assailant was shot dead by patrolling police. Tariq Mastoi, a senior police officer, stated that due to the rapid rejoinder of the police, the foray was thwarted.
There was no immediate claim of accountability for the attack on foreign employees in Karachi, which is Pakistan’s biggest city and the capital of the southern region of Sindh. Both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the assault on the workers.
In the past, armed groups targeted Chinese nationals performing assignments related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan. China is a most intimate partner of Pakistan and invested $62 billion in the CPEC infrastructure scheme, which includes a series of highways that join southwestern China to Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.
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