The Chinese government has expressed its support for Pakistan’s efforts to investigate the Bisham attack, which resulted in the deaths of five Chinese engineers and a local individual in March, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
During a press briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated, “China supports Pakistan in continuing to fully investigate the incident, and in pursuing and bringing to justice all those responsible.”
The attack occurred on March 26 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers traveling from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, resulting in the tragic loss of lives. Dasu, home to a significant dam project, has previously been targeted, with a bus blast claiming 13 lives, including nine Chinese nationals, in 2021.
Following the attack on the bus carrying Chinese nationals working on the Dasu hydropower project, the Chinese government urged for a thorough investigation and called for heightened security measures to safeguard its citizens in Pakistan.
Ning addressed remarks made by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi during a Sunday press conference, where Naqvi implicated Afghan territory in the attack on Chinese citizens in Bisham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Naqvi called for the arrest of alleged terrorists and leaders of banned groups allegedly involved in the attack.
In response, Ning emphasized China’s “great importance” attached to Pakistan’s progress in the investigation and reiterated China’s commitment to collaborating with Pakistan to bolster security cooperation and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects, and institutions in Pakistan.
In April, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered disciplinary action against at least five senior police officials for negligence in handling the attack. Moreover, it’s noted that Pakistan will pay $2.5 million in compensation to the families of the Chinese nationals killed in the Bisham attack.
China has reiterated that attempts to disrupt China-Pakistan cooperation will not succeed, with the Chinese ambassador emphasizing the need to intertwine economic and security cooperation. Both nations have acknowledged terrorism as a mutual threat to regional development and stability, with China urging regional countries to enhance counter-terrorism collaboration and eradicate terrorist organizations and their breeding grounds to safeguard the collective security and development interests of all nations.
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