Dozens killed in pair of attacks in Pakistan

Dozens of people were killed in Pakistan on Friday in a pair of apparent terrorist attacks, including an assault on a Chinese Consulate and a suicide bombing in a crowded market, according to media reports.

Two police officers, two civilians and all three assailants died in an hourlong assault on the Chinese Consulate in the port city of Karachi, authorities told The Associated Press.

{mosads}No Chinese staff were injured in the attack, which was claimed by a separatist group from the province of Baluchistan that opposes Beijing’s economic development in Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack on Twitter, saying it was “clearly a reaction” to trade agreements that resulted in officials taking a trip to China.

“The attack was intended to scare Chinese investors and undermine CPEC. These terrorists will not succeed,” Khan wrote. 

The failed attack against the Chinese Consulate was clearly a reaction to the unprecedented trade agreements that resulted from our trip to China. The attack was intended to scare Chinese investors and undermine CPEC. These terrorists will not succeed.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 23, 2018

Hours later and hundreds of miles away in the northern town of Kalaya, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle reportedly killed at least 25 during a crowded weekly market.

The remote region near the Afghan border has long been afflicted with tension between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

The Washington Post reported that the explosion went off near a Shiite mosque that may have been the target.

The two attacks, which occurred on different sides of the country, do not appear to be connected but highlight security challenges posed by both separatists and the Pakistani Taliban, the Post noted.

Khan said both of the attacks appear to be a planned campaign “to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper.”

“Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we will crush the terrorists, whatever it takes,” he added.

I am absolutely clear both these attacks are part of a planned campaign to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper. Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we will crush the terrorists, whatever it takes. https://t.co/AhPpjsUGEq

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 23, 2018