China on August 21 asked Pakistan to take effective measures and overhaul the security mechanism to forestall attacks on its nationals working on various infrastructure projects after a suicide bomber attacked a convoy of Chinese nationals in the restive Balochistan Province, in the second such attack in over a month.
The Chinese embassy here in a statement strongly condemned Friday’s suicide attack on the convoy of Chinese nationals comprising four vehicles in Gwadar, the port city of strategic importance due to the presence of Chinese workers and investment.
A suicide bomb attack in Pakistan on a motorcade carrying Chinese personnel injured one Chinese national and killed two local children, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad said on Saturday.
“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 in a statement.
The attack took place on Friday at the Gwadar East Bay Expressway project in Balochistan, the embassy said. Several wounded people were treated at a local hospital, it said.
The embassy called on Pakistan’s authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and severely punish the perpetrators.
In July, a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying workers to a dam construction site in northern Pakistan, killing 13 people, including nine Chinese.
Pakistan’s foreign minister said Pakistani Taliban militants known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan were behind those attacks. The TTP told Reuters it was not involved..
Beijing is investing over $65 billion in infrastructure projects in Pakistan as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, under its wider Belt and Road initiative.
A Chinese tabloid run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily called the bus blast the most serious attack on Chinese nationals in recent years.
