Pakistan smells attack against foreigners in blast outside Karachi Airport

Security officials inspect the blast site outside the Karachi airport on Sunday, - AP

A massive blast outside the Karachi Airport on Sunday claimed at least two lives and left more than eight people injured, reported the Associated Press.

Police and the provincial government said a tanker exploded outside the airport, which is Pakistan's biggest.

Crime Investigation Department (CID) Director General Asif Ejaz Shaikh told local daily Dawn that “nothing was clear about nature of explosion at this moment”.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar told television channel Geo News that the explosion was caused by a suspected improvised explosive device (IED). A home ministry official told The Associated Press that it was an attack on Chinese nationals, one of whom was injured. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Videos showed flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene. There was a heavy military deployment at the site, which was cordoned off. Deputy Inspector General for East Azfar Mahesar told the media that it seemed like it was an oil tanker explosion. "We are determining the nature and reasons for the blast. It takes time."

The Sindh home minister told Geo News the attack had targeted foreigners. Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan, most of them involved in Beijing's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that connects south and central Asia with the Chinese capital.

Launched by China in 2013, BRI aims to enhance China’s influence by linking South-East Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) connecting the Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Baluchistan with China’s Xinjiang province is the flagship project of BRI. India has been objecting to the CPEC as it is being laid through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.