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Six killed in suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan

A suicide bomber rammed a lorry into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam job in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing six individuals, authorities stated, the 3rd significant attack on Chinese interests in the South Asian nation in a week.

The very first 2 attacks targeted a Pakistan marine air base and a strategic port utilized by China in the southwest province of Balochistan where Beijing is investing billions in facilities projects.

The engineers were en route from Islamabad to their camp at the dam building website in Dasu in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, regional authorities chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said.

5 Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack, Gandapur informed .

Dasu is the website of a major dam and the area has actually been attacked in the past. A blast on a bus eliminated 13 individuals, including 9 Chinese nationals, in 2021.

Chinese engineers have actually been dealing with a variety of jobs in Pakistan with Beijing investing over $65 billion in facilities works as part of the China Pakistan Economic Passage (CPEC) under Beijing's wider Belt and Road initiative.

Nobody claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack; there likewise had been no claim for the 2021 attack. Pakistan is home to twin revolts - one by Islamists and the other by ethnic militants looking for secession.

While Chinese interests are mostly targeted by the ethnic militants looking for to press Beijing out of mineral-rich Balochistan, they usually operate in the nation's south and southwest - far from the website of Tuesday's attack.

Islamists mainly run in Pakistan's northwest, the location where the convoy was attacked.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities have actually reached the spot and began relief operations.

A separate authorities source informed the convoy was bring staff of the construction firm China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) dealing with the Dasu hydropower project - the very same company targeted in 2021.

Building work stopped for months after that attack.

China's embassy in Pakistan required examinations into the attack.

The Chinese embassy and consulates in Pakistan have instantly released emergency work, requiring that the Pakistani side conduct a comprehensive investigation into the attack, seriously punish the perpetrators, and take practical and effective steps to protect the safety of Chinese residents, the embassy stated in declaration.

The embassy on Wednesday also alerted Chinese people to stay abreast of the circumstance and reinforce security measures. It said China will work more resolutely with Pakistan to do its utmost to keep the security of Chinese workers, jobs and institutions in Pakistan.

' FOREIGN ASPECTS'

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to check out Beijing next week, according to a source in the Prime Minister's Workplace, his first because taking office following February elections.

On Tuesday afternoon after the attack, Sharif went to the Chinese embassy to use condolences to victims' families and the Chinese government, the embassy stated on Wednesday.

A Pakistani military declaration said the 3 attacks in the last week were focused on destabilising the internal security scenario, accusing foreign aspects of aiding and abetting such incidents in Pakistan.

It stated tactical projects and sensitive websites crucial to Pakistan's financial progress were being targeted in an effort to sabotage it and plant discord between Pakistan and its allies, most especially China.

Pakistan's Indian Ocean port of Gwadar, on the route to key Gulf shipping lanes, is managed by China, while nearby naval air base Siddique is used to support security and development work, led by Beijing, in Balochistan.

Both were assaulted in recent days by Baloch separatists.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned Tuesday's attack and said Pakistan would continue to fight back against militants.

Pakistan's foreign office said the life and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan was of vital value.

Pakistan will continue to deal with our Chinese brothers in guaranteeing the safety and security of Chinese nationals, tasks and institutions in Pakistan, it stated in a statement.

(source: Reuters)