Thread by @fahadnabeelfn

Four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed while four others were injured in a suicide attack outside the University of #Karachi's Confucius Institute. BLA (Bashir Zaib Baloch faction) claimed responsibility for the attack.
dawn.com/news/1686920/3…

🧵to follow

The deceased were identified as follows:
- Huang Guiping (Confucius Institute Director)
- Ding Mupeng
- Chen Sai
- Khalid (Driver)

Out of the four injured individuals, the two individuals are as follows:
- Wang Yuqing
- Hamid

According to my count, this is the 28th claimed attack by any Baloch ethno-nationalist militant group in #Karachi since 2005. In April 2021, I wrote on the reasons/factors due to which Baloch groups have expanded their terror activities to Karachi.
cscr.pk/explore/themes…

BLA (BZB faction)'s Majeed Brigade has well-defined target criteria. The 4 factors are as follows:
- Political & symbolic significance
- Potential of int'l media coverage
- Economic implications
- Low collateral damage

Today's attack against Chinese nationals fits the pattern

The key factor for Majeed Brigade to select targets for terror activities is the political and symbolic importance of the target. Therefore, the primary target for today's attack was Confucius Institute and its faculty members.

Key points of BLA (BZB faction)'s communique on yesterday's attack:
- 30yo Shaari Baloch (Resident of Nazarabad, Turbat)
- Mother of two children - 8yo Mahrosh and 4yo Meer Hassan
- Did Masters in Zoology and was currently studying for her MPhil in education

- She was also working as a science teacher in a secondary school
- Remained a member of Baloch Students Organisation
- Joined Majeed Brigade two years ago and voluntarily signed up for suicide bombing

- Shaari rendered her services in different units of Majeed Brigade (There are three known units of MB i.e. operational unit, logistic unit, and intelligence unit)
- Six months ago, she confirmed that she continues to stand by her decision of carrying out a suicide attack

In its detailed communique, the militant group has termed 'Confucius Institute' as 'the symbol of Chinese economic, cultural and political expansionism'.

The objective of yesterday's attack was to give a clear message to #China that 'its direct or indirect presence in #Balochistan will not be tolerated', the communique added.

The militant group once again warned #China to immediately halt its 'exploitation projects' and refrain from 'aiding the occupying Pakistani state'. Otherwise our future attacks will be even harsher, the communique added.

The communique acknowledged that there are 'hundreds of highly trained male and female members' of Majeed Brigade who are ready to carry out deadly attacks in any part of #Balochistan and #Pakistan.

The communique provides for the first time a certain estimate of Majeed Brigade's overall numerical strength which is referred to as 'hundreds of highly trained male & female members'. Interestingly, the Urdu version of communique refers to the strength as 'dozens'.

In July 2020 interview, Hammal Rehan (Majeed Brigade commander) described the strength as 'several'.
thebalochistanpost.net/2020/07/tbp-re…

"It wasn't an overnight indoctrination or a sudden urge but by all possible means an act well-thought-out."
tribune.com.pk/story/2354333/…

According to University of #Karachi officials, the slain director had recently been appointed for a three-year term.
bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-…

"....The [Confucius] institute...opened six years ago and is also affiliated with a Chinese university in Wuhan."
gandhara.rferl.org/a/karachi-blas…

.@BBCUrdu's profile of Shari Baloch
- B.Ed. from AIOU (2014)
- MSc in Zoology from Uni. of Balochistan (2015)
- Teacher at Govt Girls Middle School Kalatak
- 6 siblings (3 brothers & 3 sisters)
- 'Voluntarily' participated in a number of BSO-Azad protests
bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-…

"The director [of Confucius Institute] had just come around a month ago. Chen Sai [one of the two deceased female faculty members] was......in her early 20s."
dailytimes.com.pk/926481/three-c…

"....He [@CMShehbaz] had directed the interior minister to visit Karachi.......after his visit to Saudi Arabia, he would preside over a meeting to devise a strategy to provide security to the Chinese as well as other foreign nationals in the country."
dawn.com/news/1687032/p…

"....Campus security adviser...said the university had received an alert from agencies over the Chinese faculty members’ security....it is the first time....such an alert pertaining to the security of the Chinese faculty members [was received]."
dawn.com/news/1686946/k…

"[Campus security adviser] Prof Zubair admitted that there were serious security issues on the campus that needed to be taken up on priority basis.....The university is open from all sides and the first step we need to take is to erect a concrete boundary wall."

Dawn's Editorial - "While issues such as the underdevelopment of #Balochistan, the Baloch missing persons, and the military footprint stamped on large parts of the province must be addressed, these should not provide a pretext to whitewash such violence."
dawn.com/news/1687052/a…

"...Three suspects were..taken into custody from the University by the law enforcement agencies. Police sources suspected that the female suicide attacker was a former student [of the University]...while the relevant departments are checking the records. "
thenews.com.pk/print/953583-t…

.@thenews_intl - "Given that the coalition government in place has spoken of Balochistan’s issues, perhaps this is the time to open a dialogue with those elements that are open to debate and reason, so that violent groups are starved of the recruits...."
thenews.com.pk/print/953650-t…

.@etribune's Editorial - "While the biggest academic campus in Pakistan is under the firm eyes of paramilitary forces for the last three decades, this incident is simply unacceptable. It confirms a serious security lapse, and is in need of being probed."
tribune.com.pk/story/2354341/…

.@globaltimesnews's Ed. - "We want to say that no matter who the perpetrators are and whom they are targeting, they must be severely punished. The Pakistani side must conduct a....detailed investigation and give the Chinese side an explanation."
globaltimes.cn/page/202204/12…

"Posts on her Twitter account,...showed that she was an avid reader. Her collection had books from the likes of British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins to Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Arundhati Roy's Azadi."
dailyo.in/politics/karac…

"One brother is a tehsildar -- a grade 16 officer. Another brother works at the district court. One of her uncles is a retired professor, an author and a rights activist. Two of her cousins are doctors."
tribuneindia.com/news/world/who…

"She has been absent from school for the last six months. District Education Officer had served her a show-cause notice, but she didn’t respond."
globalvillagespace.com/karachi-blast-…

"According to the [Chinese foreign ministry] spokesperson's statement, local authorities in Sindh and Karachi have already launched a 'full-scale investigation to hunt down the perpetrators'."
dawn.com/news/1687079/c…