Opinion | Female suicide bomber adds to China, Pakistan woes in volatile Balochistan conflict

The suicide bombing at a Confucius Institute in Karachi carried out by a woman puts a new twist on a series of attacks on Chinese interests

Educated, middle-class young people taking up the fight in major cities shows Pakistan must see the issue through more than a security lens

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Security officials guard a damaged vehicle that was hit by a suicide bomber targeting Chinese nationals in Karachi, Pakistan, on April 27. The attack at the University of Karachi killed four people, including three Chinese nationals. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:15am, 29 Apr 2022

On April 26, a female suicide bomber from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) Majeed Brigade targeted a bus of Chinese nationals in front of the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute. The attack killed four people, including three Chinese, and left another four injured.

This is the first attack against Chinese interests in Pakistan this year. The participation of a Baloch female suicide bomber adds a new twist to an already complex and volatile conflict. While claiming responsibility for the attack, the BLA called the Confucius Institute the symbol of Chinese economic, cultural and political expansion in Pakistan and warned of harsher attacks in the future.

In recent years, the Majeed Brigade has targeted Chinese nationals and projects in different parts of Pakistan. In August 2018, it hit a bus of Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan.

Three months later, suicide bombers from the group struck the Chinese consulate in Karachi. It targeted Gwadar’s Pearl Continental Hotel, frequented by Chinese nationals, in May 2019, the Pakistan Stock Exchange in June 2020 and a Chinese engineer in Gwadar in August 2021.

The recent spate of Baloch separatist attacks in Pakistan, including against China, shows that the insurgency has come of age. It has evolved from a hit-and-run guerilla struggle to a sophisticated urban insurgent movement capable of high-profile attacks.

The centre of gravity in this new phase has moved from the tribal leadership to the educated, urban middle class. The suicide bomber in the April 26 attack, Shari Baloch, had Masters degrees in zoology and education and taught at a government-run secondary school in Balochistan.

Opinion | Female suicide bomber adds to China, Pakistan woes in volatile Balochistan conflict

The suicide bombing at a Confucius Institute in Karachi carried out by a woman puts a new twist on a series of attacks on Chinese interests Educated, middle-class young people taking up the fight in major cities shows Pakistan must see the issue through more than a security lens

The suicide bombing at a Confucius Institute in Karachi carried out by a woman puts a new twist on a series of attacks on Chinese interests

Educated, middle-class young people taking up the fight in major cities shows Pakistan must see the issue through more than a security lens