Three suicide attackers stormed the Chinese consulate in Karachi amid a series of gunshots and an explosion on Friday, but were killed before they could get into the building in a car packed with explosives, police said. At least two police officers and two civilians were killed in the attack, which was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). All Chinese staff at the consulate were safe, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and China's foreign ministry said.
The assault was the most prominent attack in Pakistan against China, a neighbour and close ally which is pouring billions of dollars into Pakistan as part of its Belt and Road initiative. It was also the highest-profile operation in years by the BLA, which mostly wages a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan. The group also calls itself the Balochistan Liberation Army.
Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered an inquiry, with his office calling the attack "part of conspiracy against Pak and China economic and strategic cooperation".
As the attack unfolded, an explosion and gunshots rang out in Karachi's affluent Clifton neighbourhood, where the consulate is located, and a plume of smoke rose over the area.
A gun battle broke out with the two other attackers trying to enter the consulate's visa section, but they were also killed, he said.
At least three cars parked near the embassy were destroyed in a blast. A helicopter hovered over the area for hours after the attack.
A spokesman for the BLA confirmed there were three attackers.
"They stormed the Chinese embassy in Karachi. Spokesman Jiand Baloch told Reuters by telephone.
The insurgents are based in Baluchistan, where China has funded development of a deep-water port in the town of Gwadar, and is also funding other projects on a China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Balochistan, which is on the borders of Afghanistan and Iran, has rich mineral and natural gas reserves but is Pakistan's poorest province.
Separatists have for decades campaigned against the central government and what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province's resources, in particular natural gas and minerals.
The BLA says the state is also taking over land belonging to indigenous people and have targeted Chinese-funded projects.
India was quick to condemn the attack, saying there was no justification for such violence.
"The perpetrators of this heinous attack should be brought to justice expeditiously," the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said the attack was "reflective of a growing China focus by the BLA".
In August, a BLA suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying Chinese mining workers in Baluchistan, wounding five people.
China has in recent years become one of Pakistan's most important investors and supporters with some $60 billion poured into projects as part of China's continent-bridging Belt and Road.
The Chinese government's top diplomat, Wang Yi, said he was "shocked" by the attack and urged Pakistan to prevent any more such incidents.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, asked if the attack would affect Chinese investment in Pakistan, said China would "continue unswervingly" to work with Pakistan to develop CPEC projects.
Security in Quetta was increased.
"A high alert has been issued and more security personnel deployed at Iranian and Afghan consulates in Quetta and other important places," said Quetta police chief Abdul Razzar Cheema.
Friday's attack was an uptick in the level of violence perpetrated by the Baloch separatist, said Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.
So far this year, the Baluch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for 12 attacks against security personnel guarding projects linked to Chinese Pakistan Economic Corridor as well as to the infrastructure.
In a letter dated Aug. 15, the group released a letter warning China against the "exploitation of Baluchistan's mineral wealth and occupation of Baluch territory." The letter was addressed to China's ambassador to Pakistan.
But, Rana said, both China and Pakistan have calculated the security risks, which include the threats from the Baluch separatist.
"I don't see that this will have any impact on the Chinese projects in Pakistan. These threats were already on Pakistan and China's threat radar," he said.
The attack will compel China to step-up security around its people in Pakistan and increase cooperation with the local authorities, said Zhao Gancheng of the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies. But he said that would not sway China's government and Chinese firms from expanding their footprint abroad, even while they take additional precautions.
"As more and more Chinese people go abroad, and more and more Chinese investment goes overseas, the security situation of the destination countries has become a very important element for consideration," Zhao told The Associated Press.
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