PESHAWAR:
At least six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed in an explosion when their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber in the Bisham area of Shangla district on Tuesday, a top police officer said. A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers which was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said DIG Malakand Mohammad Ali Gandapur. “Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack,” Gandapur confirmed. A large contingent of law enforcers reached the site soon after the attack and cordoned off the area. Traffic on the route has come to a standstill as authorities investigate the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, and met with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong to offer condolence over the death of Chinese nationals in the suicide attack. “Once again, the adversaries of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have plotted to disrupt it through such cowardly acts,” Sharif said in a statement. “However, they will never succeed in their malevolent ambitions.” In a statement, the Chinese embassy strongly condemned the terrorist attack, requesting the Pakistani side to thoroughly investigate the attack and severely punish the perpetrators.
“The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan strongly condemn this terrorist attack, express deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families, and are making every effort to handle the aftermath together with the Pakistani side,” it said. It said the Chinese embassy and consulates general in Pakistan have launched an emergency plan immediately, adding that the Chinese side is taking all necessary measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Pakistan, and to ensure such incidents will not happen again.