UN Security Council condemns attack on Chinese consulate

USA - The UN Security Council on Saturday condemned ‘in the strongest terms’ Friday’s attacks against the Chinese Consulate-General in Karachi and a market in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Members of the council appreciated the swift response of the Pakistani authorities, expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims’ families and to the Pakistani government, and wished a speedy and full recovery of those injured, said the council in a press statement. The members stressed the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and the obligations on host governments to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity and any attack on diplomatic premises, agents and consular officers. They underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible terrorist acts accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all states to cooperate actively with the Pakistani government and all other relevant authorities in this regard. They reaffirmed that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, stressing the need for all states to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. Four people, including two police officers, were killed in the attack on the Chinese Consulate-General in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. The attackers were killed before they were able to break into the compound. At least 30 people were killed in a separate attack in the Orakzai region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest. (Xinhua)