——— Vows stern action after Shangla suicide attack kills 6 including Chinese engineers
——— Stresses resolves to bring Shangla attackers to justice
——— Says Whole nation stands in solidarity with our Chinese brothers
——— Aims to ensure accountability of elements complicit in terrorism
——— Adds strategic projects being targeted to sow discord between Pakistan, China
——— PM likely to visit China amid renewed terror threat
By Our Defence Correspondent
RAWALPINDI: As another militant attack sent shock waves across the country killing six people includ-ing five Chinese engineers in Shangla amid rising terrorism in Pakistan, the military pledged to ensure all those involved in aiding terrorism, directly or indirectly, are held accountable and find their due comeuppance, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.
A woman among the five Chinese citizens and a Pakistani driver were killed when their vehicle was attacked in Shangla’s Besham city as a suicide bomber crashed his explosives-laden vehicle into the car carrying the victims.
“Certain foreign elements are complicit in aiding and abetting terrorism in Pakistan, driven by their vested interests. Despite the veneer of innocence, these elements are being continuously exposed as sponsors of terror,” the military’s media wing said in a statement condemning the attack. It said that the recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, notably in Gwadar, Turbat, and Besham, are dastardly acts aimed at destabilising the internal security situation.
While the first two attempts were successfully thwarted by the armed forces, the latest incident in Besham led to the loss of six innocent civilians including five Chinese nationals.
The whole nation stands in solidarity with our Chinese brothers and unequivocally condemned this cowardly act, the ISPR added.
“Strategic projects and sensitive sites vital for Pakistan’s economic progress and the well-being of its people are being targeted as a conscious effort to retard our progress and sow discord between Paki-stan and its strategic allies and partners, most notably China,” it said.
The military’s media wing further stated that such heinous acts of violence against innocent civilians, foreigners and the armed forces will not deter the resolve of the Pakistani people, its security forces and our partners to root out the menace of terrorism from the country.
“Pakistan, as the frontline state against terror, remains perhaps the only nation directly confronting the international terrorist enterprise with absolute steadfastness and full resolve of the state.
“With the unwavering support of the resilient nation and our iron-clad ally China, we will ensure that all those involved in aiding terrorism, directly or indirectly, are held accountable and find their due come-uppance. Together we will prevail over adversity and evil,” it added.
Confirming attack on Chinese nationals, Malakand deputy inspector general of police (DIG) said that the Chinese nationals were engineers who were going to Dasu camp, Kohistan from Islamabad. He said that a Pakistani citizen who was driving the targeted car was injured in the attack and was shifted to a local hospital.
Later, the driver succumbed to his wounds during treatment.
After the attack, a heavy contingent of security personnel arrived at the incident’s site and cordoned off the area. Security forces have launched a search operation in the area for the suspects.
Taking notice of the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad and extended condolences to the Chinese ambassador over the unfortunate incident. Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also visited the embasy informed the Chinese ambassador about the details of the attack and deaths of Chinese engineers.
Reacting to the incident, President Asif Ali Zardari, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulber Khan, Pa-kistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Punjab, KP and Sindh chief ministers and others strongly condemned the attack, saying that such efforts to harm Pakistan’s ties with China will never get successful.
Today’s attack follows a militant attack on Pakistan Navy base, PNS Siddique in Turbat, which was suc-cessfully foiled by the security forces, as the country witnesses a spike in such attacks, resulting in deaths of several civilians and law enforcement officials.
A fierce terrorist attack on a security forces’ check post in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, KP on March 16, resulted in martyrdom of seven Pakistan Army soldiers — including a lieutenant colonel and captain.
The military has said that the continuous use of Afghan soil is behind the “growing terrorism in Paki-stan”, saying that the rise in terror attacks is a result of supply of modern weapons into the country “with the help of Afghan Taliban”.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to undertake an official visit to China next month as part of efforts to give a renewed push to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship pro-gramme of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but the latest terrorist attack is likely to overshadow the eco-nomic agenda.
As the dates were being finalised for Shehbaz’s maiden trip since he returned to the Prime Minister Office following the elections, another terrorist attack struck Chinese nationals in Basham on Tuesday.
An explosive laden vehicle hit the convey of Chinese engineers working on the Dasu Hydroelectric power project, leaving six dead including five Chinese nationals.
The attack was the latest in a series of attacks that targeted Chinese nationals and interests over the past few years.
This was the third attack in a week that directly or indirectly seems to have targeted the Chinese inter-ests. The attacks on Gwadar Port Authority Complex, Naval airbase and now Bisham assault all were apparently aimed at undermining the China-Pakistan cooperation.
Following this spate of attacks, the security of Chinese projects and Chinese nationals would remain high on the agenda when Shehbaz travels to Beijing next month, according to the sources.
China has been increasingly concerned over the security of CPEC and its nationals in view of the re-peated attacks.
In July 2021, at least nine engineers working on the Dasu project were killed in a suicide attack in the Kohistan region. The Chinese suspended the work for months before Pakistan introduced new measures to tighten security.
Pakistan at the time accused the Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies of being behind the attack, though no group publicly took responsibility.
However, the fact that terrorists managed to strike again in the same area raised questions about the security measures.
Pakistan created a separate army division headed by a major general to provide security to CPEC pro-jects and the people working on them.
Given that China would not take the latest attack lightly, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership were swift in condemning the Bisham attack.
Prime Minister Shehbaz went to the Chinese Embassy to express his condolences. The prime minister assured the Chinese ambassador that his government would investigate the incident at the highest level and bring to justice all those responsible for it.
A statement issued by the foreign office said the government of Pakistan strongly condemned the heinous act of terrorism.
“We will take all necessary measures to bring the terrorists and their facilitators to justice. Such das-tardly acts cannot dent the resolve of Pakistani nation to fight against the scourge of terrorism,” it said.
“Today’s attack was orchestrated by the enemies of Pakistan-China friendship. We will resolutely act against all such forces and defeat them.”
It said the people and government of Pakistan stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Chinese friends in this difficult time and extend sincere condolences to the families of the Chinese nationals killed in the attack.
“Pakistan and China are close friends and iron brothers. The life and safety of Chinese nationals in Pa-kistan is of paramount importance. Pakistan will continue to work with our Chinese brothers in ensur-ing the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” the statement further said.
