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Pak must arrest those behind attack that injured Chinese worker: Foreign min
A suicide bomb attack on a motorcade carrying Chinese personnel in Balochistan on Saturday injured one Chinese national and killed two local children.
China on Monday called for the swift arrest of the masterminds behind a blast in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan, which killed two children and injured three others including a Chinese national over the weekend.
A suicide bomb attack on a motorcade carrying Chinese personnel in Balochistan on Saturday injured one Chinese national and killed two local children.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned the attack on Monday, urging Pakistan to “severely punish” the perpetrators and “earnestly protect the safety of Chinese nationals, organisations and projects” in the country.
“On August 20, a motorcade of the Gwadar East Bay expressway project was attacked by a bomber on the way to construction site. One Chinese national suffered minor injuries and several local personnel were injured or killed,” Wang said on Monday.
“We are shocked and condemn this incident, mourn the Pakistani personnel killed in the attack and convey sympathy to the bereaved families and injured,” he added.
“We urge the Pakistan side to arrest the perpetrators and punish them as soon as possible,” Wang said.
The Pakistani side has given proper treatment to the injured Chinese personnel, he said, adding that Islamabad said they will take every effort to ensure the safety of the Chinese personnel projects in Pakistan.“China will work with Pakistan to address the terrorist threats and protect the safety of our people and personnel in Pakistan.”
“Terrorism,” Wang said, “is the common enemy of mankind. China opposes any force using terrorism to seek geopolitical interests and calls on all regional countries to collaborate in eradicating terrorist groups and upholding the common safety and development interests of all the countries in the region”.
Friday’s attack comes a month after a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying workers to a dam construction site in northern Pakistan, killing 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.
Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and ISI chief Faiz Hameed had rushed to China a week after the July attack.
The frequent attacks on Chinese nationals and interests have cast a shadow over Chinese investment in Pakistan under the
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), one of the flagship projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Beijing has invested billions in infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the CPEC, under its wider Belt and Road initiative.
