China’s state-run Global Times propaganda newspaper speculated on Thursday that “it is highly possible” America supported the group responsible for a burqa-clad suicide bomber detonating herself in front of a Chinese regime Confucius Institute this week.
A woman identified as schoolteacher Shari Baloch killed herself, detonating explosives that killed four other people on Tuesday in front of the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute. Confucius Institutes are Chinese Communist Party-funded institutions used to promote communism and Chinese supremacy abroad. The Chinese government claims the objective of the Institutes is to promote Chinese language and culture, helping participating universities with Mandarin language classes and aiding in Chinese history curricula.
Baloch killed four people, three Chinese teachers and a Pakistani national who worked at the university, according to government officials.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization seeking independence for the Balochistan region from Pakistan, took responsibility for the attack and promised to continue targeting Chinese assets in the country. China is heavily economically invested in Pakistan, a critical participant in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a global infrastructure plan in which China offers predatory loans to poor countries in exchange for promises to build major infrastructure projects, such as train lines or ports. When the countries fail to pay their loans, China seizes the projects it built.
The Global Times equated American officials’ consistent expressions of concern about the BRI with support for the BLA and even potential involvement in the suicide bombing – speculation for which no evidence exists at press time.
Rangers stand guard nearby the blast site a day after a suicide attack on a van near the Confucius institute which is the cultural programme that China operates at universities around the world at the Karachi University in Karachi on April 27, 2022. (RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images)
“The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group, warned China of more deadly attacks,” the state newspaper observed. “In the threat, the BLA depicts China as a looter – a similar narrative used by the US, which shows it is highly possible that the terrorist group has supporters behind it, analysts said.”
“The BLA is being funded by the enemies of Pakistan. There is no secret that India and the US are behind the BLA and some leaders of the BLA have taken refuge in the West,” the Times claimed, without naming any. “They are against the development of Pakistan, and CPEC is a prime target, Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, chief executive officer at Asian Institute of Eco-civilisation Research and Development, told the Global Times.”
The evidence the Global Times presented against India was a report that some members of the terrorist organization may have “sought medical treatment in India’s hospitals, often under disguise” – suggesting that, even if true, Indian officials had no way of knowing BLA terrorists were in the hospitals.
In a separate article published Thursday, another alleged Party-approved “expert,” Liu Zongyi, correlated the BLA’s accusations against China of exploiting Pakistani territory with American officials warning countries not to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. The BLA issued a statement through a spokesman after the attack Tuesday taking responsibility and claiming that “hundreds of highly trained male and female members of the Baloch Liberation Army’s Majeed Brigade are ready to carry out deadly attacks in any part of Balochistan and Pakistan.”
The BLA said it had prepared “even harsher” killings against Chinese nationals specifically that China could prevent by ending its “exploitation projects.”
“Liu noted that it is rare that the BLA made such blatant publicity even after three Chinese were killed,” the Global Times relayed. “Liu added that judging from the BLA’s wording that defined Chinese projects in Pakistan as ‘exploitation’ and viewed China as an ‘occupier,’ a stance that echoes that of the US-led West and India, it can be concluded that there are external forces behind the BLA. ”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has notably refrained from attacking America over the terror attack in Pakistan, which has no overt ties to any Western country as per the evidence Pakistani police have released at press time.
Police inspect a site around damaged vehicles following a suicide bombing near the Confucious Institute affiliated with the Karachi University, in Karachi on April 26, 2022. (RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images)
“I want to stress that terrorism is the common enemy of all humanity. China and Pakistan are resolved and able to cut off the evil claws of terrorists and make them pay the price,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.
“The iron-clad friendship enjoys popular support in both countries. China has always supported Pakistan’s national development. We will continue to support Pakistan’s economic and social development and improvement of people’s livelihood,” Wang continued. “The Pakistani government has pledged to strengthen security for Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan and not to allow any force to undermine the great China-Pakistan friendship and cooperation. We believe that the Pakistani side will earnestly take robust measures to ensure that China-Pakistan cooperation moves ahead in a safe and smooth manner.”
Wang did not mention any other countries in his remarks on the attack.
The U.S. State Department granted the BLA a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)” designation in 2019, specifically in response to the BLA attacking Chinese targets in Pakistan.
“BLA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the past year, including a suicide attack in August 2018 that targeted Chinese engineers in Balochistan, a November 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and a May 2019 attack against a luxury hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan,” the State Department observed at the time. “Terrorist designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.”
The Pakistani government has presented no evidence linking the Confucius Institute bombing to the U.S. government. America has not come up in any reporting on the incident in any significant capacity.
According to the Pakistan Express Tribune, Shari Baloch, the alleged bomber, kept a Twitter account that did not seem to have any praise of the United States. While the account did share a quote by Indian national hero Mahatma Ghandhi, the posts also included quotes from strident anti-American mass murderer Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Pakistani authorities have detained at least two other people in relation to the bombing – the bomber’s husband, Habitan Baloch, and Bebgar Imdad, who the Express Tribune described as an “alleged facilitator.”
An account claiming to be Baloch’s husband posted a note on Twitter after the bombing featuring a photo of the woman and her two children, calling the terrorist attack a selfless act” that left him “beaming with pride.”
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 https://t.co/xOmoIiBPEf will continue to remain an important part of our lives. pic.twitter.com/Gdh2vYXw7J— Habitan Bashir Baloch (@HabitanB) April 26, 2022
The celebration of terrorism appeared to still be available publicly on Twitter at press time, despite the company’s terms of use allegedly banning the promotion of violence.
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