Thread: 9 Chinese, 3 Pakistanis killed in Pakistan blast on Wed morning

A total of nine Chinese nationals and three Pakistani nationals were killed in a blast in Pakistan on Wednesday, the Chinese embassy has confirmed. The victims encountered the blast on a vehicle heading to the China-invested Dasu hydropower project on Wednesday morning. The Pakistani side is investigating the matter.


The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has asked Pakistan to make an all-out rescue effort and treat the injured at all costs, strengthen security for Chinese institutions, projects and personnel, and find out the truth of the incident as soon as possible. The Pakistani military has organized rescue efforts right away, sending helicopters to transport the wounded.

The embassy also issued a warning on Wednesday, asking Chinese nationals and enterprises in the country to stay highly alert and avoid going out unless necessary.


The regional commissioner of Upper Kohistan said the local government quickly mobilized rescue helicopters after the attack and rushed the injured to a hospital. The regional government will further investigate who was responsible for the bombing and clear out local terrorist forces, Global Times has learned.


Mainstream media and social media in Pakistan paid close attention to the attack. They expressed condolences for the victims and strongly condemned the terrorist attack, which was believed to be an attempt to drive a wedge between China and Pakistan and undermine the progress of infrastructure construction in Pakistan.


Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a Wednesday briefing that China is shocked and condemns the bombing attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. He added that China sends condolences to the Chinese, as well as Pakistani people who have been affected by the incident.


The Pakistani security forces have taken measures to control the situation and properly evacuated and treated the wounded, Zhao said, noting that China has asked Pakistan to thoroughly investigate the incident, arrest the perpetrators to earnestly protect the safety of Chinese personnel and projects.


The Dasu Hydropower Project is located in the Kohistan region in northern Pakistan and is being built by the China Gezhouba Group. With a total installed capacity of 4,300 megawatts, the project is one of the most technically difficult, with the largest total installed capacity and the largest total investment in Pakistan.


As a large-scale energy infrastructure project, the Dasu Hydropower Station has the advantages of low construction costs and large generating capacity. The station generates about 12 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, effectively filling Pakistan’s current power gap.


In addition, the project has provided about 8,000 local jobs and helps build local water supply, technical colleges and other public facilities in the area.


The Kohistan area borders Kashmir and is located on the upper Indian River with rich hydro power resource. Due to the high mountains and dangerous roads, local terrorist organizations have frequently launched activities, and it is difficult to eliminate them altogether.


According to the Gezhouba Group, the Pakistani military provided security support during the construction of the project.


In May 2017, two Chinese nationals were killed in southwestern Balochistan province, Pakistan, days after they were kidnapped by armed men pretending to be policemen from the city of Quetta.


Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, speaking on the matter in June 2017, stressed that China opposes terrorism in any form, and that China will continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and safeguard national stability.



9 Chinese, 3 Pakistanis killed in Pakistan blast on Wed morning - Global Times

Maybe the bacon sarnies aren't happy with that crook in charge selling their country out to the chinkies.

^ Who are the bacon sarnies?

Pakistani= Bacon Sarnie

Rhyming slang

Harry uses it to perfect his Kauderwelsch

Oh, the Pakisarnies. How silly of me.

Apparently, all is not well in the state of Morehammered.

China, Pakistan confirm bus blast a terrorist attack for 1st time; Premier Li urges bringing perpetrator to justice


The shuttle bus blast in Pakistan which killed nine Chinese and four Pakistanis was confirmed to be a terrorist attack, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged Pakistan to bring the perpetrators to justice in a phone call with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, marking the first time for both sides to confirm the blast as a terror attack after it happened two days ago.


When inviting Li for the phone call on behalf of the Pakistan government and people, Khan expressed his sincere condolences to the Chinese government and families of the victims in the terrorist attack in Pakistan that had caused great casualties to Chinese personnel. He also reported the progress of the current investigation and follow-up work.


Chinese Premier Li thanked Pakistan for the immediate rescue and investigation after the blast. He stressed the Chinese government pays high attention to the security of Chinese citizens and organizations overseas. The current urgent work is to rescue injured people to decrease casualties and remedial work.


The Chinese work team has arrived in Pakistan and will coordinate with Pakistan. China hopes Pakistan can provide assistance and use all necessary means to investigate the attack and bring the terrorists involved to justice, Li stressed, urging Pakistan to take effective measures to enhance the protection of Chinese personnel and organizations in Pakistan to avoid similar incidents.


There are complicated and deep changes in the global and regional situations. China attaches high attention to China-Pakistan relations and is willing to enhance strategic communications and coordination, deepen practical cooperation, safeguard regional peace and security and bring benefits to both peoples, Li said.


Khan said that Pakistan is working hard to save all injured people and will do its best to investigate the case and seize those who are responsible. Pakistan will closely cooperate with the Chinese team for their work in Pakistan.


Khan stressed that Pakistan pays high attention to the security of Chinese people and organizations in Pakistan and will strengthen protection measures to ensure the cooperation project is smoothly operated.


Before it was confirmed as a terror attack, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times in an interview that Balochistan terrorists and the Pakistani Taliban were possible sponsors of the bomb attack.


Pakistani Taliban opposed the government out of religious reasons, and targeted cooperation projects with China that Pakistani government has been promoting. Balochistan does not want Pakistan to become integrated via economic development, which will make their separatist agenda bankrupt, Wang said.


Qian said the Pakistani Taliban gained notoriety by attacking the Pakistani government, civilians and army. In recent years, the terrorist group has targeted Chinese projects in the country, and launched attacks on Chinese tourists, as well as businesspeople, as they know that Pakistan attaches great importance to China-Pakistan ties, and they aim to use such attacks to sabotage bilateral relations, said Qian.


The Pakistani Taliban's activities had been subdued during the Pakistani government's continuous efforts against terrorism, yet they have been on the rise recently in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Qian pointed out.


While the security situation in Pakistan has been improving and the number of violent attacks has been decreasing, there has been an increasing trend of attacks against Chinese targets in the past two years, Wang Shida, deputy director of the South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania Research Institute of Contemporary International Relations Research Academy of China, told the Global Times.


Bilal Sabri, a Pakistani journalist, told the Global Times that, "we believe the hostile agencies are using every means to destroy the relationship of Pakistan and China by targeting Chinese people and the investment they are putting in. The sole purpose of this attack is to sabotage the CPEC, Belt and Road Initiative, and to halt the fast pace of its progress."


China, Pakistan confirm bus blast a terrorist attack for 1st time; Premier Li urges bringing perpetrator to justice - Global Times

If they think Pakistan is bad, wait till they take on the talitubbies.

Dasu project suspended after attack but Pakistani workers still employed: Chinese FM


Construction of the Dasu hydropower station in Pakistan has been suspended after a deadly bus blast killed nine Chinese and four Pakistanis working there, a spokesperson from China's Foreign Ministry said, stressing that the project is an economic cooperative program between China and Pakistan but doesn't belong to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.


Zhao Lijian, the ministry's spokesperson, said on Monday that the project will reopen after conditions are ripe, denying rumors that it will halt operations after the deadly accident. The spokesperson also said the project's Pakistani employees are still working here, after some media reported that the project issued a notice terminating employment of Pakistani workers.


Some Indian media reported earlier that after the accident, work on the Dasu project stopped and employment of all Pakistanis working there was terminated, except for a few basic staff working on project site maintenance and operations.


Zhao said that Pakistan has offered all-out efforts to assist China in investigating the incident and rescuing the injured. Among the 27 Chinese who were hurt in the blast, one was in serious condition, while the rest were recovering, according to Zhao.


Nine Chinese nationals were killed when the bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers to the site of the Dasu dam was attacked on Wednesday in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


When asked about the connection between the attack and the "Taliban," and the Afghan Taliban's recent friendly remarks on China, Zhao said that the Afghan Taliban is different from the Pakistani Taliban. The former claims to be a political and military organization, which publicly said it prohibits any individual or organization to use Afghanistan to threaten other countries, and maintains dialogue and contact with the Afghan government, as well as international society.


However, the Pakistani Taliban is considered by the Pakistani government and international society as a terrorist group, which orchestrated a car bomb in Serena Hotel in Quetta in April, a city where the Chinese ambassador was visiting at the time, said Zhao.


Zhao said China and Pakistan are working closely to find out who is responsible for the attack.


Zhao Kezhi, Chinese Minister of Public Security, held a phone conversation with Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Saturday. He said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the attack and hopes China and Pakistan can work together to find out the truth, solve the case as soon as possible, locate the real perpetrators and severely punish the organizers of the attack.


Rashid said that investigation of the bus tragedy has reached its final stage and the perpetrators will be "exposed and brought to justice."


Dasu project suspended after attack but Pakistani workers still employed: Chinese FM - Global Times

That's a good thing. The chinkies won't be able to take over Pakistan's power grid for a while longer.