Suicide bomber kills 5 Chinese nationals in Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Suicide bomber rams explosive-laden vehicle into convoy carrying Chinese engineers

Five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani were killed on Tuesday in an attack on their convoy in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistani English-language newspaper DAWN reported, citing regional police officials.

The regional police chief reportedly said that a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy that was carrying Chinese engineers and was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu.

China condemned the attack on engineers who were working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under its Belt and Road initiative and demanded a "thorough investigation" of the attack.

Mohammad Ali Gandapur, the regional police officer, said that the convoy of Chinese engineers, which was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, was attacked in Bisham tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla when an explosive-laden vehicle rammed into one of the vehicles of the convoy.

The rescue officer told that the Chinese vehicle fell into a gorge following the attack and caught fire. A rescue team then reached the spot and put out the fire, he added.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari took swift action and condemned the attack on Chinese nationals. His statement reads, "President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack on Chinese residents in Bisham".

 

صدر مملکت آصف علی زرداری کی بشام میں چینی باشندوں پر حملے کی شدید مذمت

صدر مملکت کا حملے میں چینی باشندوں کی ہلاکت پر گہرے رنج و غم کا اظہار

صدر مملکت کا جاں بحق ہونے والے چینی باشندوں کے اہل خانہ اور چینی حکومت سے اظہار تعزیت

— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) March 26, 2024

Zardari further stated, "Forces hostile to Pakistan will never succeed in harming Pak-China friendship".

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the public relations wing of the Pakistan army, said that the Bisham incident and other recent terrorist incidents in Turbat and Gwadar were “dastardly acts aimed at destabilising the internal security situation”.

“The whole nation stands in solidarity with our Chinese brothers and unequivocally condemns this cowardly act.”

Condemning the attack, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said terrorists wanted to “damage the fraternal relations of Pakistan and China through their heinous actions, which we won’t allow to happen”.

“Pakistan will do everything possible to deal with the masterminds and the enablers of this act with iron hands,” he said in a post on X

I strongly condemn the terror attack on our Chinese brothers in Basham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, today. My condolences to the families and the entire Chinese nation. These terrorists want to damage the fraternal relations of Pakistan and China through their heinous actions, which we… https://t.co/6XPT94HeYd

— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) March 26, 2024