KARACHI: A Chinese language institute in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi may resume academic activities through online classes after all Chinese instructors left the country on Sunday in the wake of a suicide attack last month that killed three teachers and their driver.
The attack that took place at the entrance of Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi was carried out by a female bomber and claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The incident led to the suspension of academic activities and all Chinese teachers were moved outside the university campus.
“On Sunday, all remaining 12 teachers at the institute left along with the remains of the deceased teachers for China, where these instructors will meet their families waiting for them and also attend a memorial in the honor of departed teachers,” Dr. Nadir Uddin, the institute’s Pakistani director, told Arab News.
He dismissed reports that the institute had been permanently closed.
“The institute has not been closed. It will go on and academic activities here may soon be resumed through other methods,” he said without sharing the timeline.
This undated file photo shows students listening to a Mandarin instructor in a classroom at the Confucius Institute, University of Karachi. (AN photo)
According to the website of Confucius Institute, China decided to benefit from the experience of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain by beginning to set up culture and language centers in foreign countries in 2002.
The institute in Pakistan was launched in collaboration with the Sichuan Normal University. China has globally established 430 language learning facilities in 127 countries.
The Confucius Institute, which taught language to students in two different phases in Pakistan and China, was a huge success until the suicide bombing last month which created a sense of insecurity among Chinese nationals, though Pakistani officials said Beijing was satisfied with security arrangements made for its workers.
Speaking to Arab News, another Karachi University official said the Chinese teachers may not return after the attack which had also frightened their Pakistani colleagues.
He added the institute’s administration was considering other options, including hiring local teachers with adequate command of mandarin and holding online classes.
“The return of Chinese teachers is highly unlikely,” the official said on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media. “The administration has decided to resume academic activities in distance learning mode, in which teachers sitting in China will teach mandarin online.”
The Chinese consulate in Karachi did not respond to Arab News queries related to the departure of teachers and their possible return.
Chinese nationals have frequently been attacked by separatists from Balochistan, where Beijing is involved in huge infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
The Confusions Institute incident was the first major attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan since last year when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus, killing 13 people, including nine Chinese working on the Dasu Hydropower project in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Beijing has pledged over $60 billion for infrastructure projects in Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework which is central to its initiative to rebuild a new “Silk Road” through land routes and sea lanes to connect with markets in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
