Pak-China friendship bond unshakable: CM

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, after receiving the report of the blast in a van at Karachi University which claimed four lives, including three Chinese faculty members, visited the Chinese Consulate to express condolence with the Chinese Consul General Li Bijian.

The chief minister shared the details of the incident with the consul general and said the incident would be investigated properly. Shah assured the consul general that the culprits would be brought to book.

The CM said that the partnership of China in the overall development of Pakistan, particularly Sindh was important and such incidents would not affect the strong relationship between the two countries.

He expressed his condolences with the families of the Chinese nationals who lost their lives in the blast.

Murad Ali Shah told the consul general that his government would make all arrangements to send the bodies to China for which he needed consulates guidance.

Shah convey the condolence of PPP President Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman Bilawal Bhutto to the Chinese consul general. He said that they have condemned the incident in strong words.

The CM told the Chinese CGthat Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif talked to him on telephone and got details of the incident. He has also condemned the incident and expressed his solidarity with the aggrieved families of Chinese nationals killed in the incident.

The CG thanked the chief minister for his visit and said he was in contact with the families of three Chinese nationals killed in the blast. "Whatever decision is taken in respect of shifting the bodies to China would be informed to the Sindh government," Li Bijian said.

Earlier, Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Maher informed the chief minister that at about 2.30pm a blast took place in a van near Commerce Dept of Karachi university. The chief minister directed the IG to conduct a security audit of Chinese nationals living in Sindh under CPEC and non-CPEC related projects and report him.

Sindh ministers visit blast site

Provincial Ministers including Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Mukesh Kumar Chawla inspected the site of a suicide bombing at the gate of Confucius Institute on Tuesday.

In-charge CTD Omar Khattab, Deputy Commissioner East Asif Jan Siddiqui and SSP East briefed the provincial ministers about the incident and preliminary findings.

Talking to media, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon termed the incident an act of terrorism. “People behind the cowardly act are the enemies of our country,” he said.

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The provincial minister mentioned, “We have competent police force that is capable of solving all such cases of terrorism,” the minister said, adding that I am sure this case will also be handled in the same manner at the earliest. He said that police and other law enforcement agencies would not spare terrorists involved in the blast and all those responsible for the incident would be brought to the book.

Karachi Commissioner, Muhammad Iqbal Memon has strongly condemned the blast and expressed deep sorrows and grief over the incident. He visited the blast site and spoke to the security personnel. The commissioner offered sympathies with the bereaved families of Chinese nationals who were killed in the blast. He also directed the authorities concerned to provide all possible medical facilities to the people injured in the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2022.