Police in northern Pakistan said on Tuesday that a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a convoy, killing at least five Chinese nationals and their local driver.
The attack took place on the main highway connecting Pakistan and China.
Local police officer Bakht Zahir told VOA that the investigation into the “suicide bombing” incident is ongoing.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for one of the worst attacks on Chinese citizens in recent years.
Pakistani President Zardari condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the neighboring Chinese government.
“The forces hostile to Pakistan will never succeed in damaging Pakistan-China friendship,” Zardari said.
The victims were heading to the Chinese-funded Dasu hydropower project under construction in the Kohistan region when bombers from the opposite direction attacked them.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad demanded that the Pakistani government immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the deadly bombing.
This is not the first time Chinese citizens have been attacked in mountainous areas.
In mid-2021, a suicide car bombing targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers working on Pakistan’s largest hydropower project, killing nine Chinese citizens and three local colleagues.
Thousands of Chinese engineers and laborers work in Pakistan. Most of these are related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), an extension of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure plan.
Tuesday’s attack came a day after separatist rebels attacked Pakistan’s second-largest naval air base in southwestern Balochistan province. The military said security forces killed all four attackers and a Pakistani soldier died in the ensuing clashes.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
