Despite all odds, China Pakistan vow to combat challenges together

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Sunday assured China that all the Chinese nationals in Pakistan will be protected. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate, the FM and the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong visited the Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi to enquire after the health of Chinese nationals injured in the Dasu incident and wished them speedy recovery.

On the occasion, Qureshi assured the injured Chinese nationals for all out support and medical care.

FM Qureshi said China was Pakistan’s Iron Brother and such incidents cannot create misunderstandings between the two allies.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Nong Rong said that China and Pakistan will continue to cooperate more closely to face any challenges together.

Earlier on arrival, Major General Muhammad Aleem, Commandant CMH, apprised the visiting dignitaries about the medical care being provided to the injured, said the ISPR.

Over the weekend, Chinese investigators, accompanied by Pakistani counterparts, visited the site of a bus explosion in which 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, were killed on July 14.

Pakistan initially blamed a mechanical failure but later said traces of explosives had been found and terrorism could not be ruled out.

The Chinese investigators spent a few hours at the site to study it closely. Beijing initially called it a bomb attack but backed away from the assertion after Pakistan stated it was an accident. Later, Beijing said it would send a team to help investigate the matter jointly with Pakistan.

China is a close ally and major investor in Pakistan, and various militants opposed to the Pakistani government have in the past attacked Chinese projects and citizens.

Chinese Premier Li urged his Pakistani counterpart to hold accountable the culprits for what he described as a ‘terrorist attack.’

The Chinese workers killed on the bus were employed at the Dasu hydroelectric project, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $ 65 billion investment plan aiming to link western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar. CPEC is part of Beijing’s massive Belt and Road Initiative.