SHANGLA : At least six including five Chinese nationals were killed and several other persons injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked near Besham, a town located in Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.
Confirming the number of casualties, the DIG Malakand Muhammad Ali Gandapur said that a suicide bomber crashed his vehicle full of explosives into the car at Basham in which the Chinese nationals were travelling.
He said that a Pakistani driver of the car was injured in the attack and was shifted to a local hospital. Later, the driver succumbed to his wounds during treatment.
The deceased Chinese engineers included a woman.
The Chinese nationals were engineers who were going to Dasu camp, Kohistan from Islamabad, the official added.
Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of security personnel arrived at the incident’s site and cordoned off the area. Security forces have launched a search operation in the area for the suspects.
The DIG further said that many people were feared injured in the attack also. “The attack appears to be a suicide, but an investigation is underway,” the police officer said, adding that the passenger vehicle was going from Islamabad to Kohistan.
“The area has been cordoned off, and the Bomb Disposal Squad has reached the spot,” he added.
The area had been attacked in the past as well. In a blast on a bus in 2021, 13 people had been killed.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had reached the spot and started relief operations, Gandapur said, adding that rest of the people in the convoy have been protected.
Earlier in the day, the security forces killed four terrorists during an intelligence based operation carried out in Dera Ismail Khan, the southernmost district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
And in Balochistan, four terrorists were eliminated and a soldier embraced martyrdom as the security forces thwarted an attack on a naval base in Turbat just days after another attack in Gwadar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has sought a report on the incident from the provincial police chief and expressed grief over the lives lost. He called the attack highly condemnable and ordered the provide immediate medical treatment to the injured.
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Haji Gulber Khan also condemned the attack and expressed grief over the loss of lives.
“Attack on Chinese citizens is a conspiracy to ruin Pakistan-China friendship,” he added.
Reacting to the incident, President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and expressed grief over the loss of lives.
“Anti-Pakistan forces will not succeed in harming Pakistan-China friendship ever,” a statement released by official account of President of Pakistan on X, Twitter, quoted Zardari.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in her condemnation, said the attack on Chinese brothers was very hurtful. She added that the nation stood with the Chinese brothers in this hour of grief.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said they would not let anyone disturb the peace of the country. “China and Pakistan enjoy brotherly relations and are partners in many development projects,” he maintained, adding that terrorists wanted to weaken the economy of the country.
Gilgit-Baltistan CM Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said the attack on Chinese nationals was a conspiracy to spoil the Pakistan-China friendship.
Sindh Governor Kamram Tessori said such incidents were part of a conspiracy to spoil Pakistan-China relations, adding that these incidents could not shake the nation’s morale. “Those involved in the attack on Chinese residents will be punished,” he maintained.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the planners of the terrorist incident in Bisham should be exposed and punished severely. “The culprits cannot escape punishment,” he stressed.
A statement issued by PPP’s media cell on X, formerly Twitter, said that Bilawal extended condolences to the Chinese government and called of the Pakistani authorities to expose and punish the perpetrators and facilitators of the attack. He also expressed solidarity with the families of the deceased.
KP Governor Ghulam Ali, Awami National Party (ANP) KP President Aimal Wali Khan and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also condemned the attack.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
