Two children killed, Chinese national injured in Gwadar suicide attack

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber on Friday evening detonated his vest and blew himself up as four vehicles carrying Chinese engineers crossed nearby at East Bay Expressway in Gwadar, Balochistan, wherein at least two children have been reported as dead due to the suicide attack.

“Today in the evening, in a cowardly attack, a convoy of Chinese nationals comprising four Chinese vehicles with integral security details of Pakistan army and police contingent was targeted on East Bay Expressway in Gwadar,” an official in the ministry of interior said.

The targeting took place along the coastal road near a fishermen colony.

“A young boy ran out of the colony once the convoy reached there to target Chinese vehicles. Fortunately, soldiers of Pakistan army in plain clothes employed as hang around security rushed to intercept the boy; who immediately, exploded himself about 15-20 meters away from the convoy,” the official said.

The official also informed that a Chinese national was injured during the incident.

“The injured Chinese national is stable and has been evacuated to nearest Gwadar Hospital. Unfortunately, two innocent children playing near the incident site lost their precious lives while another two children received critical injuries in the heinous act,” the official informed, adding that the injured have been evacuated to the hospital.

The deceased have been identified as 11-year-old Salman s/o Khuda Bakhsh and 10-year-old Salman s/o Haider Nagori.

According to rescue sources, the attacker targeted at a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals, wherein three people, including the car’s driver, were injured when the suicide bomber blew himself near the vehicle.

“Strongly condemn suicide attack on Chinese nationals’ vehicle in Gwadar,” Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani tweeted.
Security officials including from the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps have cordoned off the area and an investigation into the incident has been started.

Both Pakistan and China recognise the threats posed to their cooperation and collaboration towards the growth and development of their communities under the evolving regional environment. Cognizant of the hostile designs, Pakistan is already undertaking a comprehensive review of the security of its Chinese brothers and is committed to ensuring their safe stay in Pakistan in this journey of progress.

“We reaffirm our Chinese brothers our wholehearted endeavours to deal with these threats comprehensively.
In this hour of distress, while we are saddened by injury to our Chinese brother and loss of innocent Pakistani children, both countries stand together firmly in defeating the inimical acts aiming to undermine our cooperation and friendship,” said the official.

It should be noted that the Balochistan Liberation Army has has claimed responsibility of the attack in a tweet, wherein it alleged that it carried out a ‘self-sacrificing’ operation against a convoy of Chinese engineers in Gwadar, Balochistan.

“At least 9 Chinese engineers were killed and several were injured in the attack. This attack was carried out by BLA Majeed Brigade’s member,” Sar Buland Baloch alias Umar Jan claimed in a tweet.

However, official statements from the interior ministry state that only one Chinese engineer was injured, leading to the implication that the BLA’s claims are false.

Prime Minister Imran Khan last week had stated that no hostile forces would be able to harm the friendship between Pakistan and China, which he termed as “iron-clad”, and expressed his desire to complete the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects in a timely fashion.

The premier made the comment during a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong in Islamabad in which they discussed bilateral relations, CPEC, coronavirus vaccines as well as mutual cooperation in other sectors.

“China-Pakistan cooperation in trade, commerce and investment, people-to-people contacts, and mining and natural resources was also discussed,” the PMO added.

Talking about CPEC, the prime minister had said it was a “transformational project”, adding that Pakistan and China should “work [more closely]” on it to make it a “high-quality demonstration project” of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

He also iterated the government’s resolve to timely complete CPEC projects.

Last month, at least 12 people, including nine China nationals and two paramilitary soldiers, were killed after a blast sent a bus plunging into a ravine in a remote region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 14.

The bus was carrying Chinese engineers, surveyors and mechanical staff to the Dasu dam construction site in Upper Kohistan district, a government official who did not want to be named told media.

“The bus plunged into a deep ravine after the blast and caused heavy losses. The rescue operation is launched and the entire government machinery has been mobilised to rescue the injured by air ambulance,” another government official told Reuters, also requesting anonymity.

He said a further 28 Chinese nationals were injured.

KP Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari said two soldiers and two civilians were also among the dead. Several people were injured.