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Karachi attack: Two killed in attack on Chinese consulate
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionParamilitary forces and policeman take cover behind a wall near the Chinese embassy
Two policemen have been killed and a security guard injured in an attack on the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
Gunshots were heard at about 09:30 local time (04:30 GMT) outside the consulate in the upmarket Clifton area, police said.
Up to four gunmen tried to enter the consulate but were stopped by security guards at a checkpoint, reports said.
Three attackers have been killed by police in an exchange of gunfire.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a blast, and local TV channels have broadcast images of a plume of smoke. There is a heavy police presence in the area which has been cordoned off.
All the staff inside the consulate are safe, local media reports said.
A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, has said it carried out the attack. It is thought to be one of many separatist groups operating in the restive province, which has seen a long running nationalist insurgency.
Over the years construction projects and Chinese workers in Balochistan have been repeatedly targeted by militants.
China's Baloch investment
Balochistan is at the heart of an ambitious Chinese project, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a string of huge investments by China in Pakistani infrastructure.
As China is such a close ally to Pakistan and has poured billions into the nation, this incident will deeply concern authorities who have described this investment as a "game changer", says the BBC's Secunder Kermani in Islamabad.
Balochistan itself is a sparsely populated region, rich in gas and coal reserves, as well as copper and gold.
Yet it has remained Pakistan's most impoverished area and Baloch nationalists have long accused the central government of exploitation and denying the province its due rights.
- 23 November 2018
- Asia
Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionParamilitary forces and policeman take cover behind a wall near the Chinese embassy
Two policemen have been killed and a security guard injured in an attack on the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
Gunshots were heard at about 09:30 local time (04:30 GMT) outside the consulate in the upmarket Clifton area, police said.
Up to four gunmen tried to enter the consulate but were stopped by security guards at a checkpoint, reports said.
Three attackers have been killed by police in an exchange of gunfire.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a blast, and local TV channels have broadcast images of a plume of smoke. There is a heavy police presence in the area which has been cordoned off.
All the staff inside the consulate are safe, local media reports said.
A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, has said it carried out the attack. It is thought to be one of many separatist groups operating in the restive province, which has seen a long running nationalist insurgency.
Over the years construction projects and Chinese workers in Balochistan have been repeatedly targeted by militants.
China's Baloch investment
Balochistan is at the heart of an ambitious Chinese project, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a string of huge investments by China in Pakistani infrastructure.
As China is such a close ally to Pakistan and has poured billions into the nation, this incident will deeply concern authorities who have described this investment as a "game changer", says the BBC's Secunder Kermani in Islamabad.
Balochistan itself is a sparsely populated region, rich in gas and coal reserves, as well as copper and gold.
Yet it has remained Pakistan's most impoverished area and Baloch nationalists have long accused the central government of exploitation and denying the province its due rights.
