KARACHI: A suspected militant, who allegedly planned to target Chinese citizens working on a project in the city, was killed in an alleged encounter on Wednesday.

“Two terrorists tried to kill the Chinese at Dawood Jetty. After an exchange of firing, one terrorist was killed while the other managed to escape,” a police statement said, adding that Constable Akram Ali also suffered a bullet wound in the shoot-out.

Senior Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) official Raja Umer Khattab, who visited the spot, told Dawn that Chinese workers were involved in repair work of ships at the jetty.

He said there was a drain near the sea from where one armed assailant attempted to enter and target Chinese workers, but he was spotted by a policeman who opened fire on him.

He, however, clarified that it was a not a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

DIG Muhammad Kashif, who is responsible for the security of the CPEC-related projects, told the media that there were more than 30 foreigners working at the jetty for the repairing of the ships. He said that four policemen were deployed at the check post.

Initially, the police suspected that the assailant wore a suicide vest to carry out a suicide attack. The Bomb Disposal Squad was called, which after examining declared that it was not a suicide vest.

Sukkan SHO Rao Zaheer said that the incident took place at a Chinese firm — Hong Kong River.

He claimed to have recovered one Kalashnikov and two magazines from his possession. He said the identity of the deceased could not be ascertained till late in the night.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2023