President Alvi visits Chinese embassy, expresses condolences over Karachi blast

President Dr Arif Alvi on Saturday visited the Chinese embassy to offer condolences over the loss of lives of Chinese nationals in the recent terrorist attack in Karachi.

On Tuesday, at least four people including three Chinese nationals were killed and four others injured after a suicide blast targeted a van carrying staff from the Confucius Institute at Karachi university.

The institute was jointly established by the University of Karachi and Sichuan Normal University in China in 2013 to deepen international understanding of the Chinese language and culture and promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

China demands punishment for perpetrators of suicide attack

Talking to the Charge d' Affairs, Pang Chunxue, and officers of the Chinese embassy, the president said that the entire Pakistani nation was in deep pain and shock over the unfortunate incident and shared the grief of Chinese brothers and sisters.

"Pakistan would leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and bring to justice the elements involved in this heinous incident," he said.

Condemning the incident, the president said that some hostile countries were behind the attack as they want to harm the Pak-China friendship and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

He reiterated that hostile countries would not succeed in undermining Pakistan and China's ties as both countries enjoyed a deep friendship and are strongly committed to the idea of further strengthening the all-weather friendship.

He asked the Chinese Charge d' Affairs to convey his heartfelt condolences to the Chinese people, the Communist Party, and President Xi Jinping.

The Charge d' Affairs thanked the president for visiting the embassy and expressing solidarity with the people and government of China.

Chinese nationals killed in Karachi University blast

She said that both countries have a long history of friendship and close cooperation. She condemned the attack and hoped that the culprit behind this incident would be apprehended and punished.

On Wednesday, China strongly condemned the suicide attack at the University of Karachi and asked Pakistan to apprehend and punish the perpetrators.

According to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry, China's assistant minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao called the Pakistani Ambassador to China to "express extremely grave concern."

"He demanded that the Pakistani side should immediately make 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 and prevent such incidents from happening again."

Pakistan strongly condemns terrorist attack on Chinese nationals: FO

Following the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to convey his condolences.

During the visit, he said that the incident would be investigated expeditiously and the country would make an example out of the culprits behind this horrific attack.

"The PM said that any attack on iron ties between Pakistan and China was unbearable, and any such miscreant activity won’t be allowed to affect the great bilateral relations between the two states. All arrangements for the repatriation of dead bodies and return of injured will be made," the statement added.

Similarly, the Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday "strongly condemned the reprehensible terrorist attack" in Karachi, saying that "the cowardly incident is a direct attack on the Pakistan-China friendship and ongoing cooperation."

"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," the FO statement said.

"The government and people of Pakistan extend their deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of victims who lost their lives in the incident."