Pakistan police authorities have confirmed the killing of five Chinese engineers in a suicide attack in Besham area of Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunbkhwa. A local police official at Besham police station said 12 vehicles were bound towards Dasu Dam project from Mansehra when they came under an explosive laden vehicle that rammed with one of the vehicles which included Chinese engineers.
This incident occurred in the jurisdiction of Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The site where the vehicle after the blast fell into a deep ravine is called (LAHORE NALLAH) and situated around two kilometers away from Beesham city or Shangla district. The Chinese engineers were coming to Daso dam from Islamabad. All the six, including five Chinese and one Pakistani driver, were killed in the incident.
Mohammad Ali Gandapur, the regional police chief said that the police have reached the spot and started relief operations. The rest of the passengers have been protected and evacuated from the area, according to Gandapur.
Bisham station house officer (SHO), Bakht Zahir also confirmed that the incident claimed six lives, of which five were Chinese engineers and one was a Pakistani. It was a “suicide blast” and the authorities concerned were collecting evidence, Zahir told local news agency Dawn. Security arrangements were tightened at the spot and the bodies were being shifted to a hospital, according to Zahir. He furthered that police has launched investigation on the incident to see from where and ho the vehicle of a suicide bomber came and how it happened.
The bodies had shifted to the Bisham Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, said Rescue 1122 station head Sheraz Khan. He said that after the blast, the vehicle with the Chinese passengers fell into a gorge and caught fire. “The rescue team then reached the spot and put out the fire,” Dawn reported, quoting Khan.
Pakistan pledges to project civilians and foreign nationals
The recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, notably in Gwadar, Turbat, and Besham, are dastardly acts aimed at destabilizing the internal security situation, said Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan (ISPR).
While the first two attempts were successfully thwarted by the armed forces, the latest incident at Besham led to the loss of 6 innocent civilians including 5 Chinese nationals, ISPR said in a statement.
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 Pakistan and its strategic allies and partners, most notably China, the statement reads.
If furthered that 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.
“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 terrorism from our country,” it says.
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 alley China, we will ensure that all those involved in aiding terrorism, directly or indirectly, are held accountable and find their due comeuppance. Together we will prevail over adversity and evil,” it furthered.
Rush for condemnations
Soon after the attack, Pakistani officials rushed to condemn the incident in the strongest possible terms, vowing to respond to the attack.
Pakistan Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi condemned the suicide attack and expressed “heartfelt condolences” to the bereaved families.
“We stand with the Chinese government and the families of the citizens killed in this attack,” Naqvi said in a statement.
He furthered, “enemies have targeted the citizens of Pakistan’s extremely trusted friendly country. This was not an attack on Chinese citizens but also on Pakistan.”
Interior minister called the preparator of the attack an “enemy” and vowed a strong response to the attack.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also condemned the terror attack as what he described as the “Chinese brothers”. “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 won’t allow to happen,” he added.
He assured that Pakistan will do everything possible to deal with the masterminds and the enablers of this act with iron hands.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Other Pakistani officials also condemned the attack. The National Assembly of Pakistan in a statement said, “making Chinese nationals a target of terrorism is a heinous plot – terrorists are targeting innocent citizens for their nefarious aims.”
Nine Chinese working on the same project killed three years ago
The attack came less than three years after nine Chinese nationals working in the same project (Dasu hydropower project) were targeted and killed in a similar incident of car bombing.
In July 2021, nine Chinese nationals working on the same project funded by the World Bank were killed in a vehicular suicide bombing.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s attack is considered the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan in a week. The recent attack hit an airbase and a port in the province of Balochistan.
China has remained one of the most important allies to the Pakistani government and has invested over $28 billion in infrastructure projects as part of the wider Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The recent attack and wave of terrorist attacks in different parts of Pakistan came just a week before the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made his first official visit to China after winning the general elections last month.
