Suicide attack in Pakistan kills 6 including five Chinese engineers

International Desk: Six people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam construction project in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Officials said five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were among the dead. Police said it was the third major attack on Chinese-related facilities and individuals in the country in a week.

The first two strikes targeted a naval air base in the country and the Chinese-owned port of Gwadar in the southwestern province of Balochistan. While Beijing is investing billions in infrastructure projects. Regional Police Chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said that on Tuesday afternoon, the Chinese engineers were on their way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasute dam construction area of ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when they reached Bisham area of ​​Shangla district, the casualties occurred in a suicide bomb attack.

Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack, Gandapur told Reuters. Police also said that 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, were killed in an explosion in a bus in the Dasu Dam area in 2021. No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. However, the Majeed Brigade of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for two attacks earlier this month.

The Majid Brigade criticizes China's investment in Balochistan and accuses both China and Pakistan of exploiting the region's resources. Incidentally, Chinese engineers are working on several projects in Pakistan. While China has invested $65 billion in infrastructure as part of the Pakistan Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under Beijing's larger Belt and Road initiative.

Meanwhile, China's embassy in Pakistan demanded an investigation into the attack and said, "Chinese embassies and consulates in Pakistan have immediately started emergency work." We hope the Pakistani side will thoroughly investigate the attack, punish the perpetrators severely and take practical and effective measures to protect Chinese citizens. After the attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Chinese embassy on Tuesday afternoon to express his condolences to the families of the victims and the Chinese government.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that the three attacks last week were aimed at destabilizing the internal security situation and sabotaging important and sensitive project sites for Pakistan's economic development. In order to sow discord between Pakistan and its allies, especially China.