Suicide Bombing Targeting Japanese Passenger Vehicle in Pakistan... Only Perpetrators Killed

Five Japanese Passengers in Van Safe... Two Perpetrators Dead
Occurred During Police Escort Amid Terror Threat Targeting Foreigners

A suicide bombing targeting Japanese nationals occurred in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, but all five Japanese were unharmed and two perpetrators died.

On the 19th (local time), local media such as Geo News and AP reported that in the morning, a motorcycle approached a van heading to the Pakistan Suzuki automobile factory in the Munsara Colony area of Karachi and carried out a suicide bombing.

The assailant on the motorcycle detonated a vest containing explosives, and police escorting the vehicle fired at the attackers, killing another assailant. Local police stated that two people, including the suicide bomber and an accomplice, died in the incident, and three nearby pedestrians were injured, but the five Japanese nationals in the vehicle were unharmed.

On the 19th (local time), a bomb attack targeting Japanese nationals occurred in Karachi, Pakistan, where police officers are inspecting a damaged van.
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Recently, in Pakistan, terrorist attacks targeting Chinese workers have frequently occurred due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) construction and other projects. Tariq Mastoi, a senior police official, explained, "We had information that there could be attacks on foreigners working at China-related sites, so this vehicle was also being escorted." Although these projects are being carried out in Pakistan, Chinese workers mainly occupy the jobs, causing dissatisfaction among small rebel groups or terrorist organizations who then carry out attacks targeting Chinese nationals.

Last month, two Chinese companies constructing hydroelectric dams in Pakistan halted construction due to security concerns following recent suicide bombings targeting Chinese nationals. On the 25th of last month, a representative of China Power Construction Corporation (PCCC), which is working on a dam expansion project in Tarbela, Haripur area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, announced that construction was suspended after the attack and about 2,000 local workers were also laid off.

Earlier, in the Shangla area of the same province, a vehicle loaded with explosives rammed into a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals, killing six people including five Chinese. The deceased were affiliated with another Chinese company, China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), which is building a hydroelectric dam in Dasu, Shangla area. CGGC also suspended construction immediately after the attack. Approximately 1,250 Chinese workers were employed at the construction sites of these two Chinese companies.

Pakistan is an important partner in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a land and maritime Silk Road connecting China, Central Asia, and Europe. Pakistan is collaborating with China on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of this initiative, with thousands of Chinese workers employed across Pakistan. However, Pakistani terrorist groups claim that the jobs created by the CPEC projects mainly go to outsiders, providing little benefit to local citizens, and have been carrying out attacks targeting Chinese and other foreign workers involved in these economic cooperation projects. In July 2021, a suicide bombing occurred a few kilometers from the Dasu hydroelectric dam construction site, killing 13 people including nine Chinese technicians, but the perpetrators behind that incident have not yet been identified.

AP News reported that incidents specifically targeting Japanese nationals, like this one, are rare. Although no group has claimed responsibility for this attack, it is possible that separatist groups or the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are behind it. In Karachi, where this incident occurred, groups such as the TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Islamic State (IS) are active.