China 'gravely concerned' over killing of nationals in Pakistan

China on Friday said it was "gravely concerned" about the killing of two Chinese citizens in Pakistan's restive Balochistan.

"According to initial information from the Pakistani side, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have already unfortunately been killed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Hua said.

A Chinese man and a woman, who taught Mandarin in Balochistan, were kidnapped from Jinnah in Quetta last month. The Islamic State terror group has reportedly owned up responsibility for killing the two Chinese nationals.

However, Beijing said that it stands by Pakistan in the fight against terror and sought to dispel fears about its multi-billion dollar economic corridor being hit.

The $46 billion project, which connects China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port, is the "flagship" project of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

"We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and support Pakistan in its fight (against terrorism) and for peace and tranquillity in the region and beyond," Hua said.

"I think this incident has no connection with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting," she said.

The incident comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.

China has in the past expressed concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan.

(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)

--IANS

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