China demands justice over Besham attack

PM, interior minister visit Chinese embassy to offer condolences

ISLAMABAD:

The Chinese embassy and consulates general in Pakistan strongly condemned this terrorist attack on the Dasu Hydropower Project personnel in Besham in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday and urged Pakistani authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and severely punish perpetrators.

In a statement issued after the Besham suicide bombing that killed six people, including five Chinese nationals in the Upper Kohistan district, the embassy said that its diplomatic mission in the country had launched an emergency plan, taking all necessary measures to their protection.

The statement came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the embassy in Islamabad to condole over the death of five Chinese nationals working on the Dasu Hydropower Project in the suicide bombing on the Karakorum Highway in the afternoon.

In their meetings with the Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and other officials, the prime minister and the interior minister assured them that the government would hold a high-level and swift probe into the attack and take the culprits and their facilitators to task.

According to the Chinese embassy statement, a Chinese company’s bus, carrying staff on the Dasu Hydropower Project was hit by terrorist attack at around 1 pm, killing five Chinese citizens and a Pakistani citizen. The embassy strongly condemned the atrocity.

It said that the Embassy and its consulates general in Pakistan were making every effort to handle the aftermath together with the Pakistani side. They “have launched an emergency plan immediately, requesting the Pakistani side to thoroughly investigate the attack and severely punish the perpetrators”.

The Chinese embassy and the consulates general in Pakistan “are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Pakistan, and to ensure such incidents will not happen again”, it added.

The statement reminded the Chinese citizens, enterprises in Pakistan to pay close attention to the security situation, enhance security alerts, strengthen security measures, and make every effort to take safety precautions.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz visited the Chinese embassy to condole over the killing of five Chinese nationals in a terrorist attack, and assured Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong of “a swift and high-level probe”, said a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

In an interaction with Ambassador Jiang, the prime minister sympathised with the bereaved families of the slain Chinese nationals and conveyed his condolence message to the Chinese president and premier, a PM Office press release said.

“We will not let such nefarious attempts to undermine the Pak-China friendship to succeed. The enemies of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC] have again tried to interrupt it through such cowardly attempt but the enemy will never succeed in its evil designs,” Shehbaz remarked.

He also reiterated the country’s resolve to continue fighting against terrorism till its complete eradication. In a tweet earlier, Shehbaz said that Pakistan and China “express firm resolve to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice”.

Separately, Interior Minister Naqvi reached the Chinese embassy immediately after the suicide attack and briefed the Chinese ambassador about the details of blast and the ongoing rescue operations, a statement issued by his office said.

Naqvi said that the Pakistani nation was an equal participant in the grief of its Chinese brothers, adding that the government would deal with the elements involved in the attack with iron hands by ensuring a comprehensive investigation of the incident.

Naqvi said the enemy had targeted the citizens of Pakistan's most trusted friend, China, but added that the great bilateral relations would not be affected due to such attacks. He expressed complete solidarity with the families of the deceased Chinese citizens.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)