KARACHI: Sindh’s Minister for Information and Transport Sharjeel Memon on Tuesday said the authorities had arrested a militant who provided technical support for a deadly suicide bomb attack on Chinese teachers at Karachi University in April.

A suspected female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers, drawing strong condemnation from Beijing, in the first major attack this year against nationals of long-time ally China working in Pakistan.

Four people died in total, including the minibus driver and the three Chinese staff from the Confucius Institute, a cultural and educational program that China operates at the university.

The attack was the result of the combined efforts of two separatist groups, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Sharjeel Memon told a news conference.

The accused man, Dad Bakash, was arrested from district West on Monday and confessed to being commander of a sleeper cell of the BLF, he said.

“He confessed to carrying out surveillance of Chinese nationals at Karachi University and important installations on the task given by Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and met and provided assistance to the female suicide bomber and her husband.”

The accused told investigators that the militant network is spread across neighbouring countries and they are also in contact with the separatist groups in these countries, Memon said.