China presses Pakistan:- China on Monday demanded Pakistan "effectively close the security loopholes" to safeguard its workers and projects in the country after a suicide bombing in Karachi killed at least two Chinese personnel and injured another overnight.

Officials from both allied nations confirmed the casualties, saying a convoy of Chinese workers was targeted outside the airport in the capital of the southern Sindh province. The victims were staff at Karachi's Chinese-built coal-based Port Qasim power plant.

Television footage showed the explosion destroyed entirely or partially several vehicles. Police reported injuries to at least 10 Pakistani security personnel escorting the convoy.

"China is deeply shocked by the attack against Chinese citizens and strongly condemns this terrorist act. We deeply mourn the victims, and our thoughts are with their families," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement posted on its website. It stated that Beijing has asked Islamabad to "get to the bottom of the incident swiftly, hunt down the perpetrators, and bring them to justice."

The Chinese side has also demanded more "targeted measures" to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC and safeguard its personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an insurgent group battling security forces in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, took responsibility for Sunday's deadly bombing. It claimed in a statement sent to journalists that a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the Chinese convoy departing the Karachi airport.

Pakistani authorities said an investigation into the attack was continuing, but they declined to share any information about the nature of the blast.

"This deplorable act of terrorism is an attack not only on Pakistan but also on the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated. It promised to bring "to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack, including the Majeed Brigade," the statement said, referring to what BLA claims is its unit of suicide bombers.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the overnight "heinous act" and offered condolences to the Chinese leadership and families of the victims, his office reported.

The Chinese statement noted that Beijing would continue to support Islamabad's counterterrorism effort and work with it "to foil any attempt to sabotage" relations between the two countries. "The attempts of terrorist forces to undermine China-Pakistan trust and cooperation and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will not succeed," it added.

BLA, listed as a global terrorist group by the United States, has previously also targeted Chinese nationals in the largest Pakistani city.

In April 2022, a BLA female suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to her body near a van carrying Chinese teachers in Karachi, killing three of them and drawing strong condemnation from China.

Since 2017, at least 21 Chinese nationals have been killed in Pakistan, and many of the attacks have been claimed by BLA.

Thousands of Chinese engineers and workers are in Pakistan, most associated with the multibillion-dollar CPEC infrastructure development project under China's global Belt and Road Initiative. Others are also working on non-CPEC projects.

The power plant in Karachi is one of several such units that China has built in different Pakistani regions since the two countries launched the CPEC a decade ago, effectively addressing acute electricity outages in the South Asian nation.

BLA claims it is fighting for Balochistan's independence and denounces China's CPEC-related investments in the natural resources-rich province, including the Chinese-operated deep-water strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

The insurgent group accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the region's resources, charges both countries reject as baseless.

Pakistan has long blamed rival India for backing Baloch insurgents, a charge India denies.

Sunday's bombing came as Pakistan prepares to host a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on October 15-16. Officials have said that Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang is scheduled to visit Islamabad for bilateral talks before the SCO gathering. VOA/SP