New Delhi: China strongly condemned the Wednesday (April 27, 2022) attack in Karachi that killed three of its citizens and “demanded” Pakistan to punish the perpetrators.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Jianghao made an urgent call to the Pakistani ambassador to China to express “extremely serious concern”.
The statement further said, “They demanded that the Pakistani side should immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, apprehend and punish the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law, and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan and prevent such incidents from happening again.” Every possible measure should be taken to stop it.
Chinese people’s blood should not be shed
China said that the blood of Chinese people should not be wasted and those behind this incident will definitely pay the price. It said that the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese diplomatic missions in Pakistan will continue to urge the relevant Pakistani departments to properly handle the follow-up cases of those killed, treat the injured and take strict action against the terrorist organization involved.
Pakistani PM Shahbaz Sharif visits Chinese Embassy
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had visited the Chinese embassy in Pakistan on the evening of April 26 to offer condolences. Sharif also said that the Pakistani government will investigate the incident in depth, give severe punishment to the guilty and strengthen the security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan in an all-round manner.
The newly-elected prime minister of Pakistan said that his government will never allow any force to “undermine the Pakistan-China friendship”.
On Tuesday, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the Karachi University gate, killing four people, including three Chinese nationals and one Pakistani. The trio were among passengers on a minibus returning to the University of Karachi after a lunch break when a bomb exploded at the entrance of the university’s Confucius Institute.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group based in southwestern Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, claimed responsibility for the blast.
Notably, the bombing was the first major attack against Chinese citizens in Pakistan since July last year, when a suicide bomber blew up a passenger bus in northern Pakistan, killing 13 including nine Chinese working at a hydroelectric power plant. People were killed.
first published:April 27, 2022, 9:12 a.m.
