Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered authorities to increase the security of Chinese residents and institutions in the country, following the terrorist attack that killed three Chinese nationals.
At least four people, including three Chinese nationals and one Pakistani, lost their lives in a deadly suicide bombing in Karachi city on April 26. The suicide bomber blew up a minivan outside Karachi University’s Confucius Institute at around 2pm local time.
Pakistani students mourned the attack which killed their teachers. The fatalities included Huang Guiping, the director of the Confucius Institute, and two Chinese language teachers Chen Sai and Ding Mufang. The fourth victim was their Pakistani van driver Khalid.
The attack was claimed by the banned militant organisation Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and carried out by a woman suicide bomber.
Exemplary punishment
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan on the evening of April 26 to express sorrow and convey condolences. He assured the Chinese officials that the Pakistan “government will conduct an in-depth probe into the incident, give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators, and strengthen the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan in an all-round way.”
PM Sharif, who will depart on a three-day official visit to Saudi Arabia on April 28, said that soon after the visit he would preside over a meeting to devise a strategy to provide security to the Chinese and other foreign nationals in the country.
Pakistan Foreign Office said “The cowardly incident is a direct attack on the Pakistan-China friendship and ongoing cooperation,” adding that “Pakistan and China are close friends and iron brothers. Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan”.
China’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the attack and demanded Pakistan punish the perpetrators and prevent such incidents in the future. Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao asked the Pakistani side to launch a “thorough investigation of the incident, apprehend and punish the perpetrators to the full extent of the law, and take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan.”
Pakistani police and military intelligence agencies have launched an investigation into the terror attack. The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and Consulate General in Karachi are working with the Pakistani officials.
Tuesday’s tragedy occurred less than a year after the Dasu terror attack in which nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis were killed in a bus explosion as they were on their way to the Dasu hydropower project in July 2021.
