Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Tuesday (July 5) said that the Karachi University (KU) suicide bombing on April 26 was a joint plan by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
On Monday, a 13-member Chinese delegation, led by a Chinese counterterrorism official, called on Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah and discussed with him security measures for Chinese nationals working in Sindh and the progress of the probe into the KU attack.
An intelligence team of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) revealed in the meeting that an “important accused” had been arrested.
Addressing a press conference today, Memon said that the suspect, a terrorist, had revealed that the KU attack was the joint work of the BLF and the BLA.
“During the investigation process, the suspect made important revelations. He said that he was the commander of a BLF sleeper cell in Karachi.”
Memon further said that the suspect met the husband of the female suicide bomber (Shari Baloch), Dr Haibastan Bashir, and another “important terrorist” named “Zeb” in Karachi, and helped to carry out the KU attack.
The minister further added that the suspect revealed that “Zeb was the KU attack mastermind”, who entered Pakistan from a “neighbouring country” and had been staying in Karachi with Shari Baloch and her husband.
Shari Baloch, a 30-year-old woman, committed a suicide bombing near the Confucius Institute of Karachi University on April 26. In the suicide attack, she targeted four people, including Chinese nationals and a van driver.
She was an educated woman who belonged from Kech, Balochistan. She had been with Balochistan Students Organisation-Azad (BSO Azad) since college. She later joined the separatist movement of the Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). She completed her master’s degree in education from Allama Iqbal Open University in 2014.
Claim: All Confucius Chinese learning centers have shut down in Pakistan in the wake of the University of Karachi bomb blast in which three Chinese nationals were killed.
Fact: All Confucius Chinese learning centers except the one in NUML are shutting down as most Chinese educators have gone back to China. Remaining classes for the current session have been shifted online.
On May 15, right-wing activist and journalist Orya Maqbool Jan with 477.2K followers on Twitter, shared a tweet claiming that all five Confucius centers in Pakistan are being shut down in the aftermath of the University of Karachi bombing by Shari Baloch. The female suicide bomber targeted three Chinese nationals working at the Confucius Institute of the University of Karachi.
On May 17, The News posted an article quoting Zhang Heqing, the Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, stating that all centers are operating and that China will continue to increase educational support sent towards Pakistan. After the article in the English daily, social media users started “fact checking” Orya Maqbool Jan, including Naya Daur andUrdu News, using The News’ article to back up their claim that none of the Confucius centers are shutting down.
Team Current decided to verify this widely spread news and we discovered that except for the Confucius center inside National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, all other centers – in Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi and Bahawalpur, are on their way to shutting down for the foreseeable future.
We got in touch with Babar Saleem, the accounts officer at the University of Karachi Confucius center, who confirmed on call that outside these five centers the Chinese government had set up a few classes in PItaro as well. But since all Chinese educators have already gone back to China, the current session in these centers have been changed from in person to online and after the current session ends, all activities at the center have been cancelled.
Verdict: 90% TRUE (since the learning center at NUML will remain open)
Habitan Bashir Baloch, husband of the female suicide bomber, Shari Baloch has been arrested by security officials, a day after scope of the investigation into the Karachi University (KU) blast was expanded, reports ARY News on Wednesday.
According to the TV report, Habitan Bashir Baloch was arrested by the security personnel.
The TV channel, quoting sources, claimed that the Chinese ambassador in Pakistan was informed regarding arrest of the suicide bomber’s husband, Habitan Bashir Baloch.
The Chinese envoy was briefed on the latest developments in a session chaired by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah at Chief Minister’s House in Karachi.
The participants of the session were apprised that it is the first arrest after the KU blast.
Meanwhile, the report claimed that investigation agencies have unearthed more details about the woman suicide bomber Shari Baloch who attacked Chinese citizens at KU on April 26.
The report, quoting investigators, revealed that the last tweet from Shari Baloch’s Twitter account was made from a foreign country.
“The IP and MAC address recovered from her last tweet have disclosed that her account was being operated from a western country. The handlers also tried to camouflage the location by using a VPN,” the TV channel informed.
Authorities have also found details about Shari’s meetings prior to the blast at KU. Shari used to meet regularly with her husband at his brother’s house. Dr Haibtan Baloch was staying in a private hotel in Karachi. Authorities have doubts that Haibtan was among the masterminds of the attack.
The police raided a house in Gulistan-e-Johar Karachi where they found Shari’s two kids.
Some locals also assisted in carrying out the attack, the investigators claim.
On the other hand, the investigators have found the association of some relatives of the Karachi University’s (KU) female suicide bomber Shari Baloch with the banned Baloch Students Organization (BSO).
The ARY News claimed that investigators believed that Shari Baloch joined the banned BSO through her relatives.
The 30-year-old Shari Baloch committed a suicide bombing near the Confucius Institute of Karachi University on April 26. In the suicide attack, she targeted four people including Chinese nationals and a van driver, reports Independent Urdu.
She was an educated woman who belonged from Kech, Balochistan. She had been with Balochistan Students Organisation-Azad (BSO Azad) since college. She later joined the separatist movement of the Majeed Brigade of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). She completed her master’s degree in education from Allama Iqbal Open University in 2014
However, as per Urdu news reported that he completed a bachelor’s in Education (B.Ed) in 2014 and earned a Master’s degree in education in 2018. Later, she also earned a master’s degree in Zoology. As per her allegedly Twitter account, she has done M.Phil in education as well. She was married to a doctor and have two children together, one son and a daughter. She was teaching in a government school in Balochistan but the school did not confirm it yet.
Her relative revealed to a reporter that most of the family members are part of the bureaucracy.
According to her relative, “It is being said on social media that some members of Shari Baloch’s family went missing so she took such a step to take revenge but not a single person in her family has gone missing to date. She was ideologically committed to it, so maybe she took such a step.”
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Raja Umar Khattab also confirmed that it was the suicide attack that was carried out by a female clad-in-burqa. Police also released CCTV footage in which Shari Baloch was standing near the gate of the Confucius Institute. She blew up when a van was about to enter the institute at 1:52 pm.
[TRIGGER WARNING] VIDEO MAY BE SENSITIVE TO SOME AUDIENCE
Four people lost their lives including three Chinese nationals and a driver while three people survived from injuries including Ranger personnel, one Chinese national, and a security guard. The injured people were taken to a nearby hospital
The deceased three Chinese nationals are identified as Prof. Huang GuiPing, Ding Mufang, and Chen Sai while Wang Yuqing received injuries.
Later, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) took the responsibility for the suicide attack near the Confucius Institute.
A spokesperson of BLA spokesman said, “Shari joined the Majeed Brigade two years ago and six months ago she confirmed that she was determined to carry out the attack. She has been active in her mission ever since.”
A tweet from her husband, Habitan Bashir Baloch also came to light for appreciating his wife’s selfless act.
He penned down, “Shari Jan, your selfless act has left me speechless but I am also beaming with pride today. Mahroch and Meer Hassan will grow into very proud humans thinking what a great woman their mother was. You will continue to remain an important part of our lives.
“The police had received reports regarding security threats to Chinese nationals and security was also provided to them, however, no intelligence report of suicide attack through a female bomber was received,” the top police official said while speaking on Geo News program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath.
China has strongly condemned the recent suicide attack on Karachi University and extended deep condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims.
In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “The government of the People’s Republic of China expresses strong condemnation and indignation over this major terrorist attack and extends deep condolences to the victims and sympathies to the injured and bereaved families.”
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao called the Pakistan Ambassador to China Moinul Haque and demanded that Pakistan should immediately make a thorough investigation into the tragic incident, and apprehend and punish the perpetrators to the full extent of the law. “We expect that Pakistan will take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens living across Pakistan and to avoid the recurrence of such cowardice incidents happening again.”
Moin ul Haque, in a message, said, “The entire nation is in shock and mourns the loss of these precious lives including our Chinese friends.”
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif also visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad after the incident to offer condolence over the incident.
PM said, “The blood of the Chinese people should not be shed in vain, and those behind this incident will surely pay the price.”
