CHINA STANDS BY PAK AFTER ITS CITIZENS KILLED BY ISIS

China on Friday played down security concerns over its economic corridor passing through Pakistan after it emerged that two of its nationals were killed by Islamic State militants.

A Chinese man and a woman — teaching Mandarin in Balochistan, a region at the centre of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — were kidnapped from Quetta in May, triggering alarm in Beijing.

“According to information from Pakistan, they (the two) may have already been unfortunately killed,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.

She said the incident would not have any impact on the security of projects being constructed under the CPEC.

IS claimed responsibility for the abduction-murder of the Chinese nationals though its Amaq news agency on Thursday, hours after the Pakistan Army said it had conducted a three-day operation against IS-linked fighters in Balochistan.

“We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and support Pakistan in its fight (against terrorism) and for peace and tranquillity in the region and beyond,” Hua said.

Hua clarified the two Chinese nationals were not a “couple” and were from different provinces. She had earlier said the government was “gravely concerned” when initial reports of the duo’s death came in.

The killings highlight the risks involved in building the CPEC, which will connect China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the southern coast of Balochistan.