Beijing asks Islamabad to fully investigate deadly blast

China is “greatly shocked” by the deaths of Chinese citizens caused by Wednesday’s deadly shuttle bus explosion in Pakistan and has asked Islamabad to complete a thorough investigation into the incident as soon as possible.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a news conference on Thursday that Beijing will immediately send a joint working group to Pakistan covering multiple departments.

At around 7 am on Wednesday, a Chinese company’s shuttle bus carrying employees working on the Dasu Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province “was hit by blast on its way to the construction site”, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan said in a statement. Nine Chinese citizens and three Pakistani citizens were killed and over 30 people were injured.

Zhao said China has asked Pakistan to properly transfer and treat the injured, tighten security measures, eliminate security risks and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.

After the explosion, Chinese leaders quickly issued instructions requiring all efforts to be made to rescue the injured, effectively deal with the aftermath, thoroughly probe the explosion, fully assess related security risks and ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, Zhao said.

When meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Wednesday, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked Pakistan to prevent such incidents from happening again. He added that if the explosion proves to be a terrorist attack, the attackers “must be immediately arrested and severely punished”.

Qureshi said Pakistan will make every effort to treat the injured, thoroughly investigate the incident and promptly brief Beijing on the progress of the investigation.

On Wednesday night, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong visited the injured and mourned the Chinese nationals who were killed.

Nong urged Chinese citizens, companies, programs and institutions based in Pakistan to beef up their security.

AHMAD KAMAL / XINHUA Nong Rong, China’s ambassador to Pakistan, visits a Chinese national who was injured by an explosion in Pakistan and is being treated at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.