ISLAMABAD: China Saturday asked Pakistan to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the Gwadar suicide attack and to punish the culprits and to strengthen the security by taking practical measures to ensure such incidents do not occur again.
"At the same time, relevant departments at all levels in Pakistan must take practical and effective measures to accelerate to implement strengthened whole-process security measures and upgraded security cooperation mechanism to ensure that similar incidents will not happen again," a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad said.
The statement was issued after a convoy carrying Chinese nationals was targeted in Gwadar, killing three children and injuring several others including a Chinese national. According to Interior Ministry, a convoy comprising four vehicles carrying Chinese nationals "with integral security details of Pakistan army and police contingent" was targeted on East Bay Expressway.
Two children killed, three injured in Gwadar suicide blast
The attack took place along the coastal road near a fishermen's colony, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. In response of Pakistani authorities, the Chinese mission said that after the incident, the Pakistani side sent the wounded to the hospital in Gwadar for treatment immediately.
"The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan strongly condemns this act of terrorism, extends its sincere sympathies to the injured of both countries, and expresses its deep condolences to the innocent victims in Pakistan," it said. The Chinese embassy also said, it launched an emergency plan immediately.
It also asked Pakistan to properly treat the wounded, conduct a thorough investigation and severely punish the perpetrators. The police have registered a case at a CTD police station over the suicide attack against unidentified militants.
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a Chinese cavalcade in Gwadar resulting in loss of precious human lives. In a statement on Saturday, the PPP chairman demanded that the federal government provide adequate security to Chinese citizens working on different projects across the country.
He said that federal government must remove Chinese concerns about the protection and safety of their citizens in Pakistan. Bilawal also expressed sympathies with the families of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack, and demanded best possible medical treatment for those wounded in the attack.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021