Pakistan pledges to bring perpetrators of suicide bombing on Chinese nationals to justice

KARACHI, Pakistan / ISTANBUL

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered a "thorough" investigation into a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese workers and a Pakistani national in the country's northwestern mountainous region the other day.

Sharif, who chaired a high-level emergency meeting in the capital Islamabad, vowed that the perpetrators of this barbaric act would be brought to justice "swiftly," said a statement from his office.

Pakistan Army chief Gen. Asim Munir, federal ministers, and top government officials also attended the meeting.

Five Chinese nationals working on the Dasu Hydropower Project in the remote Kohistan district were killed in a suicide attack in the Shangla district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Dasu hydropower project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion project that will connect China's northwestern Xinjiang province to the port of Gwadar in Pakistan's Balochistan province.

Earlier in a similar attack on Dasu hydropower project workers in 2021, at least 13 people were killed, including nine Chinese workers. Later, in Nov. 2022, two men were sentenced to death for the attack.

Following the Tuesday attack, Beijing demanded that Islamabad launch an investigation “as soon as possible” and “hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

Premier Sharif expressed his "deepest" condolences to the victims' families and ordered a thorough joint investigation by civil and military departments, "utilizing all resources of the state."

“Terrorism is a transnational threat that has been instrumentalized by the enemies of Pakistan to stymie Pakistan’s progress and development. The acts targeting Pakistan-China friendship are particularly aimed at creating mistrust between the two iron brothers,” he said.

The meeting expressed "serious" concerns over alleged terrorist sanctuaries across borders and emphasized the need for a "regional approach to countering terrorism."

During the meeting, the army chief reiterated the “resolve of armed forces to eliminate the scourge of terrorism afflicting the country.”

Noting the recent surge in terrorist incidents, he remarked that the "enemies of Pakistan have once again underestimated the resilience and grit of the state and the people of Pakistan."

The interim Taliban administration in neighboring Afghanistan expressed "regrets" over the workers' deaths.

“Such incidents (are) an attempt directed at weakening regional cooperation and highlights that the regional countries should not allow the opposition of regional cooperation to achieve their goals by making the region insecure,” said the interim Foreign Ministry in Kabul.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong visited the Dasu project on Wednesday and instructed management to strictly enforce security measures while also comforting and supporting employees, China's daily Global Times reported.

Beijing demands thorough probe

China strongly condemned the "terrorist attack," and asked Pakistan early on Tuesday to "thoroughly investigate the incident as soon as possible, hunt down the perpetrators, and bring them to justice."

Beijing urged Islamabad to “take effective measures to protect the safety and security of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects in Pakistan.”

“China is working with Pakistan on the follow-up work with all-out effort,” said the country’s Foreign Ministry.

Beijing said China and Pakistan are “all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron-clad brothers” and that “no attempt to undermine China-Pakistan cooperation will succeed.”

“China opposes all forms of terrorism and firmly supports Pakistan in fighting terrorism,” it said, adding, “China will work with Pakistan with an even stronger commitment to do everything possible to protect the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan.”