The bodies of five Chinese personnel who were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Pakistan have been flown to Wuhan on a special Pakistani military plane Monday as Beijing planned to step up security measures to protect hundreds of its workers employed in CPEC projects amid increasing attacks by militants.
Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“Today, the remains of the five Chinese victims who were killed in a terrorist attack on the Dasu project in Pakistan are brought back to China on a Pakistani military plane,” the spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin said during a media briefing.
Wang said China firmly supports Pakistan in looking into what happened with utmost resolve and effort, bringing the perpetrators and whoever is behind the attack to justice and everything possible to protect the safety and security of Chinese personnel projects and institutions in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s state-run APP reported that the special plane brought the bodies to the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Earlier, the Chinese Defence spokesperson, Sr Col Wu Qian told media that the PLA is willing to work with the Pakistan military to enhance its capability of tackling various security risks and challenges, especially the ability to respond to terrorist attacks and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.
Chinese security experts believe the latest attack is a copy of the July 2021 Dasu terror attack in which nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistani citizens were killed and there was no breakthrough in the investigations into that attack.
"The attack has caused significant alarm. Apart from disrupting these vital infrastructure projects, it has shaken the confidence of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan. Reports indicate some are considering leaving the country due to safety concerns," he wrote in Dawn newspaper on Sunday.
While no one claimed responsibility, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army, and the Islamic State-Khorasan were suspected to have been involved in the attack.
