Karachi

Three Chinese nationals were among the four persons killed in a car explosion inside the premises of the Karachi University on Tuesday, according to media reports.

Geo TV reported that the blast took place at 1:52 pm in a van near Confucius Institute -- a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University. Following the blast, rescue and security agencies reached the location and cordoned off the area and started rescue operations.

The deceased Chinese nationals have been identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver Khalid, Geo TV said.

Two of the injured have been identified as Chinese national Wang Yuqing and a guard named Hamid. Three persons are said to be in critical condition, sources said.

According to police sources, there were seven to eight people in the van. However, the exact number of casualties is yet to be ascertained. 

Last year, nine Chinese nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.

Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have arrested two men for their alleged involvement in the blasts on a bus carrying Chinese nationals in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhawa in August and in Lahore's Johar Town in the last week of June 2021.

Beijing has also stepped in to probe this bus attack. The Chinese forces were allowed to investigate this matter despite the fact that the previous Imran Khan government repeatedly stated that it won't allow foreign security on its land.