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On 23 November 2018, an armed assault on the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
consulate in
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,
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
killed four people in an hour-long shootout. Those killed were two policemen, two Pakistani civilians and the three attackers. No Chinese nationals were injured or killed in the attack. The three attackers were also killed.


Attack

According to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officer Raja Umar Khattab, the attackers shot and killed the two policemen at the first check-post. The attackers then detonated
hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern ...
s and also tried to open the main armored gate of the consulate with the help of C-4 explosives but did not succeed. The heavy firing and hand grenade blasts killed two civilians, and damaged one
armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
, two police vehicles and six other cars parked outside the consulate, of which three caught fire. Policewoman
Suhai Aziz Talpur Suhai Aziz Talpur ( sd, سُهائي عزيز ٽالپر; born 1988) is a Pakistani law enforcement officer, serving as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) since 2013, the third Sindhi woman to serve in the police force of the country. T ...
, a senior superintendent of the
Karachi Police Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, told reporters, "Around 9 am, I got the news that there was an attack at the Chinese consulate. I was already on my way to work so we redirected and rushed to the crime scene. I already had my guards with me, senior officers were on their way. In the meantime we gathered the bomb disposal squad and fire brigade as well." She organized and led the two-hour battle to defend the consulate. The battle ended after all three attackers were killed. According to
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
, "Her fast response and actions during the nearly two-hour assault on the diplomatic mission in the southern port city have been praised for saving countless lives." She has been hailed as a hero in both Pakistan and China.


Victims

The policemen killed at the check-post were identified as Assistant Sub Inspector Ashraf Dawood and
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
Muhammad Amir by the
Sindh Police , nativenamea = , nativenamer = , commonname = , abbreviation = SP , fictional = , patch = , patchcaption = , logo = Sindh Police Logo.png , logocaption = , badg ...
. The two civilians killed were a father and son from
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...
, named Niaz Muhammad, 55, and Zahir Shah, 25, respectively; at the time they were waiting to renew their visas at the consulate. A private security guard Muhammad Jumman employed by the consulate was injured in the blast when he tried to stop the attackers from going past the barriers.


Investigation

A
first information report __NOTOC__ A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commi ...
registered by Sindh Police's CTD on behalf of the state through Boat Basin SHO, booked BLA chief Hyrbyair Marri and twelve of his aides, including BLA commander Mian Aslam alias 'Achu' alias Meeraq Baloch, for masterminding and facilitating the attack. Police identified one of the attackers through fingerprints matched with
National Database and Registration Authority The National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) ( ur, ) is an independent and autonomous agency under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan that regulates government databases and statistically manages the sensitive regist ...
records as Abdul Razzaq, son of Din Muhammad. On 24 November 2018, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Saleem Ahmed Khoso said that two brothers of Abdul Razzaq were arrested in Kharan. According to AIG Dr Amir Shaikh, the attack was planned in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
and allegedly conducted with the support of India's spy agency
Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, ...
with the aim of sabotaging the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). On 26 May 2021,
Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan The Anti Terrorism Court of Pakistan ( ur, عدالت انسداد دہشتگردی, ATC) was established in Pakistan, under Nawaz Sharif's government, to deal with terrorism cases. 1997 creation and subsequent amendments The court had been cre ...
expressed displeasure at the failure of the prosecution to prove India role in the attack and present witnesses against suspected members of the Baloch Liberation Army for facilitating the attack on the Chinese consulate.


Perpetrators

The
Balochistan Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army ( bal, بلۏچستان آجوییء لشکر; abbreviated BLA), also known as the Baloch Liberation Army, is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in Afghanistan. The BLA's first recorded activi ...
claimed responsibility for the attack in a tweet that included a photo of three men identified as Azal Khan Baloch, Razik Baloch and Rais Baloch. All of them were killed by police during the attack. According to Express News, Aslam alias Achu - a commander of proscribed BLA, the mastermind of the attack on Chinese consulate was receiving medical treatment at the time at
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in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. Aslam Baloch alias Achu was later killed in a suicide attack in
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...
on 25 December 2018. BLA spokesman confirmed Aslam Achu and five other BLA commanders' death in Kandahar.


Reactions

Pakistani Prime Minister The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
condemned the attack stating, "let there be no doubt in anyone's mind that we will crush the terrorists, whatever it takes." He said that "the attack was intended to scare Chinese investors and undermine CPEC" while adding "these terrorists will not succeed." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Geng Shuang Geng Shuang (; born April 1973) is a Chinese politician serving as China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He formerly served as the deputy director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department of the People's Republic o ...
during a regular press briefing said that "China strongly condemns any violent attacks against diplomatic agencies." He further said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project would proceed despite the attack. The Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese embassy, Zhao Lijian, expressed appreciation for the
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
and police for their "timely and proper action" in response to the attack. The Ministry of External Affairs, India, released an official statement on the day of the attack itself, saying that India strongly condemns the terror attack and that "the perpetrators of this heinous attack should be brought to justice expeditiously". United States
Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassado ...
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
Paul W. Jones Paul Wayne Jones (born 1960) is an American diplomat who was the United States Chargé d'affaires to Pakistan and the former United States Ambassador to Poland. Prior to that, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Eu ...
, in a
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statement issued by the US embassy in Islamabad, said that the United States "condemns in the strongest terms today’s attack on the Chinese Consulate." Karachi policewoman
Suhai Aziz Talpur Suhai Aziz Talpur ( sd, سُهائي عزيز ٽالپر; born 1988) is a Pakistani law enforcement officer, serving as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) since 2013, the third Sindhi woman to serve in the police force of the country. T ...
, who led the security operation that foiled the attack, became "a star" on Chinese social media. A photo of her surrounded by commandos went viral on social media in Pakistan.


See also

*
2018 Orakzai bombing On 23 November 2018, at least 33 people were killed and 56 others were injured in a suicide bombing in Kalaya, Orakzai District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. On the same day, an armed assault on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, Pakistan ...
*
United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade On May 7, 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force), five U.S. Joint Direct Attack Munition guided bombs hit the People's Republic of China embassy in the Belgrade district of New Belgrade, killing three Chinese st ...


References

{{reflist 2018 in international relations 2018 murders in Pakistan Chinese consulate attack 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Attacks on diplomatic missions in Pakistan Attacks on diplomatic missions of China China–Pakistan relations Explosions in 2018 Chinese consulate attack Mass murder in 2018 Chinese consulate attack November 2018 crimes in Asia November 2018 events in Pakistan Chinese consulate attack Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 Balochistan Liberation Army attacks