BLF Member Jailed 48 Years in 2021 Chinese Engineers Case
An anti-terrorism court in Karachi has sentenced a member of the banned Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) to 48 years in prison for the 2021 shooting of two Chinese engineers near Gulbai Bridge. The BLF member jailed is Dad Bux, convicted on seven counts by the judge of Anti-Terrorism Court-IV on Friday.
The court handed down 14 years for terrorism, 10 years each for attempted murder and illegal weapon possession, and a further 14 years for causing injuries. All sentences run at the same time, so the longest single term of 14 years sets the time he will actually serve.
The case file will stay dormant until the arrest of co-accused Nasir Baloch, who remains at large.
The BLF member jailed: what happened near Gulbai Bridge
The two Chinese engineers and their driver were travelling from Defence to the SITE area in a car on July 28, 2021. When they reached near Gulbai Bridge, an armed pillion rider opened fire on the vehicle and fled the scene.
One engineer was wounded, while the driver and the second engineer remained safe. The BLF later claimed responsibility through a press release produced before the court.
Iqbal Meo Rajput, Deputy Prosecutor General of Sindh, told Dawn the accused was already in custody in a university bombing case. Police said he had carried out surveillance of the campus at the behest of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army, and that case is still in trial.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that he and Nasir Baloch had carried out the 2021 attack on the Chinese engineers.
Why the court treated it as more than attempted murder
The judge observed that the attack on foreign nationals was “motivated by ethnic considerations and intended to incite hatred against foreign nationals, create internal disturbance and foment violence within the country”.
The court said the attack could not be treated as an ordinary offence of attempted murder. It said such an attack could amount to an attempt to sabotage Pakistan-China friendship and CPEC, deter foreign investment, and damage the national economy.
The judge also pointed to the deliberate selection of Chinese nationals, prior reconnaissance of their movements, more than one assailant, the use of firearms in a public place, and the BLF’s claim of responsibility. The court weighed these under Section 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Chinese nationals have been targeted before
The Gulbai Bridge shooting fits a wider pattern of attacks on Chinese nationals working in Pakistan. In April 2022, a suicide bomber struck a van carrying Confucius Institute staff at the University of Karachi, killing three Chinese teachers and their Pakistani driver. The BLA claimed responsibility for that bombing.
Less than a year earlier, in July 2021, a bus explosion near the Dasu hydropower project killed nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis. Pakistan later said the Pakistani Taliban was behind that attack.
These attacks have raised questions about the security of Chinese workers on CPEC-linked projects. Pakistan has pledged to protect them, and thirteen mineral deals were signed at the forum in Islamabad this week, with Barrick Mining showing interest in processing in Karachi and Gwadar.
The verdict sends a clear signal: courts treat attacks on Chinese nationals as offences against the state and its foreign partnerships, not only as crimes against the people harmed. The government has also argued that minerals can help lift Pakistan towards becoming one of the world’s largest economies.
The sentence is also a reminder of how long such cases can take: the shooting happened in July 2021, and the verdict came more than five years later. A special court recently sentenced a human trafficker in the Spain boat tragedy case, another trial that ran for years.
Frequently asked questions
Who was sentenced in the Chinese engineers case?
Dad Bux, a member of the banned Balochistan Liberation Front, was sentenced by Anti-Terrorism Court-IV in Karachi on seven counts over the July 2021 shooting near Gulbai Bridge.
How long will he spend in prison?
The court imposed 48 years across seven counts, but all sentences run concurrently, so the longest single term of 14 years sets the time he will serve.
What happened in the 2021 attack?
An armed pillion rider opened fire on a car carrying two Chinese engineers and their driver near Gulbai Bridge on July 28, 2021. One engineer was wounded, and the BLF later claimed responsibility.
Why did the court call it more than attempted murder?
The judge said the attack deliberately targeted Chinese nationals to create fear, sabotage Pakistan-China friendship and CPEC, deter foreign investment, and undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Who is the co-accused?
Police named Nasir Baloch as the co-accused. He has not been arrested, and the case file will stay dormant until his arrest.
