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Five Japanese targeted in Pakistan terrorists suicide attack
April 19, 2024
Reports of 1 injury in group after incident in commercial capital Karachi.
ISLAMABAD -- Five Japanese nationals survived a brazen attack on their vehicle in Karachi on Friday, with Pakistani police saying they may have been mistaken for Chinese workers -- a frequent target of extremist groups.
The Japanese were traveling in three armored vehicles when one van was attacked by a suicide bomber as another militant shot at the van when it slowed for a speed bump. None of the Japanese citizens were injured, police said. Nikkei Asia, however, has seen official reports of the incident that state one Japanese national was injured in the attack.
The suicide bomber's explosives went off some distance from the van, according to authorities. The gunman was killed by security personnel accompanying the Japanese group. Two Pakistani citizens, one working in the security detail, were wounded.
Authorities told local media that a submachine gun and a bag full of hand grenades were recovered from the scene.
Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told a press conference in Tokyo that one Japanese national was confirmed injured and the government was checking details.
The intended targets work for zipper-and-fastener giant YKK Group, a government source told Nikkei Asia. Other local officials said the group works for an export processing company in Pakistan's commercial capital. The official incident report, seen by Nikkei, confirms that the Japanese nationals worked for YKK.
Police quoted by the BBC said the attackers mistook the Japanese nationals for Chinese workers who were the intended targets.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, believed to be the first on Japanese nationals working in the South Asian nation. One of the suspects has been identified by police as a resident of Panjgur in Balochistan province, a region beset by a separatist insurgency.
Chinese nationals are a frequent target of attacks, and Beijing has repeatedly urged Islamabad to do more to protect its nationals and investments, which cash-strapped Pakistan sorely needs.
"Japanese working in Pakistan already had doubts and fears that the militants may target them, mistaking them as Chinese for their apparent facial structure and outlook," Fakhar Kakakhel, an independent analyst specializing in militancy in Pakistan, told Nikkei.
Khuram Iqbal, a counterterrorism expert based in Islamabad, said this attack was clearly a case of mistaken identity. "Japan has never been on the terrorists' radar in Pakistan," he told Nikkei Asia.
"Such attacks raise serious doubts about the capabilities of the Pakistani security apparatus, and also call into question the state's overall counterterrorism strategy, even if it ever exists," said Iqbal, the author of "The Making of Pakistani Human Bombs."
Pakistan has been battling a rise in militant activity involving myriad groups ranging from Islamists aiming to topple the government to separatists seeking to carve out a homeland in the southwestern province of Balochistan, home to Gwadar Port -- the centerpiece of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In March, five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack in Besham, about 270 kilometers north of the capital, Islamabad. The victims were on their way to the Dasu hydropower project, a China-backed 4,320-megawatt electricity generation development. The incident was the third deadly attack on or near Chinese interests in a period of a week.
In 2022, a female suicide bomber killed three Chinese teachers at the Confucius Institute in Karachi.
Experts think repeated attacks on foreigners can jeopardize Pakistan's efforts to attract foreign direct investment for the ailing economy.
"The problem Pakistan is facing on the security front has already damaged the business environment," Kakakhel said.
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