At least four people were killed in an explosion in a van inside the University of Karachi near Confucius Institute on Tuesday. Among those killed, two of them were Chinese language teachers.
A separatist group, the Baloch Liberal Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. They also said the attack was carried out by a woman suicide bomber, Reuters reported. The group had also shared an image of her clad in a long shawl sitting with two children.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Geo News TV that "The information we've got is that the female bomber was most probably a student at the university.” CCTV footage of a woman dressed in black, with a backpack standing near the van before the bomb went off, was being shown by the media.
The BLA claimed that she was the group's first female suicide bomber and the attack marked “a new chapter in the history of Baloch resistance.”
The Express Tribune reported that the attacker said goodbyes to her friends on Twitter at 12.10pm. The husband of the woman identified as Shari Baloch said he was shocked but proud of what his wife did.
Shari's husband, Habitan Bashir Baloch tweeted from an unknown location. He revealed that the couple had two children-- 8 and 5 years old. Afghan journalist Bashir Ahmad Gwakh, who has reported extensively on Pakistan shared Habitan's tweet which read, “Shari Jan, your selfless act has left me speechless but I am also beaming with pride today. Mahroch and Meer Hassan will grow into very proud humans thinking what a great woman there was. You will continue to remain an important part of our lives."
Habitan is a dentist and was a lecturer. Gwakh tweeted, “The 30-year-old joined the group 2 years ago & volunteered herself for 'self-sacrificing mission'. She had a Masters degree in Zoology & MPhil in education while teaching at a school.” in another tweet, he wrote that “Baloch's father was a government servant. He has also served in Turbat district as an auditor.”
