Pakistani president expresses condolences to Chinese citizens killed in terrorist attack

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari writes a message of condolences at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 27, 2024. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday expressed condolences to Chinese citizens killed in a terrorist attack while visiting the Chinese embassy in Pakistan. (PID/Handout via Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday expressed condolences to Chinese citizens killed in a terrorist attack while visiting the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.

In a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong, Zardari assured that the terrorists involved in the gruesome act would be apprehended, and his country would not let terrorists undermine Pakistan and China's shared goals for peace, prosperity and security in the region.

Five Chinese nationals and one Pakistani were killed when a vehicle from the Dasu Hydropower Project, being constructed by a Chinese company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was attacked by terrorists on Tuesday afternoon, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan confirmed in a statement.

Jiang said that the builders of the Dasu hydropower project and other China-Pakistan cooperation projects have made outstanding contributions to the economic development and improvement of people's livelihood in Pakistan, and it is unjustifiable for terrorists to carry out criminal attacks against them.

"China has noticed that the entire Pakistani society has formed a strong momentum to condemn terrorism. We hope and believe that this momentum will be transformed into effective measures to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel in Pakistan," he added.

China requires Pakistan to speed up the investigation, severely punish the perpetrators, make the terrorists pay the price they deserve, and urges Pakistan to implement anti-terrorism operations as soon as possible to form a strong deterrent to terrorist forces, the Chinese ambassador said.

"China is willing to continue to promote bilateral cooperation with Pakistan, expand the social foundation of China-Pakistan friendship, and squeeze the living space of terrorist forces," he added.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level emergency meeting on the same day, which was attended by Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir, federal ministers, chief Ministers, chief secretaries and inspector generals of police of respective provinces, according to Prime Minister's Office.

The meeting decided to use all the resources of the state to conduct a thorough joint investigation of the Dasu terrorist attack and vowed to bring perpetrators of this barbaric act to justice swiftly, a statement said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.