- Suicide bomber collides with bus on Karakoram Highway; Dasu dam construction is halted
- PM declares that the enemy’s plans will fail; army assigns responsibility to “foreign elements,” vowing victory.
- Cabinet ministers pay condolences at the Chinese embassy; the US declares that no nation should have to endure terrorist attacks
SHANGLA / ISLAMABAD: Following the Tuesday suicide bombing in Bisham that claimed the lives of five Chinese nationals working on the Dasu dam project, China has demanded an extensive investigation into the tragic explosion and protection for its workers.
Islamabad has responded by announcing a prompt investigation to bring the attack’s “perpetrators and accomplices” responsible.
In addition to the five Chinese nationals who perished, the driver, a Pakistani national, was also slain when a suicide bomber crashed into the bus carrying workers for the Dasu dam project on Tuesday afternoon in Bisham, Shangla district.
The bus was being attacked on the Karakoram Highway while it was traveling from Islamabad to Kohistan, according to the police. Bisham Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Juma Rehman told Dawn, “It was a suicide attack on the Chinese convoy and an explosive-laden vehicle approaching from Kohistan hit the bus.” The bus caught fire after the attack, according to SDPO Rehman, and plummeted into the ravine.
He claimed, “The attack used a huge amount of explosives, the force of which threw the bus into the ravine.” The police roped off the area, according to the officer, in order to gather evidence. Additionally, according to SDPO Rehman, “we have collected body parts of the suspected suicide bomber from the site.”
“Tumultuous scenes”
Witness Hayat Khan told Dawn that he heard two loud explosions while getting ready for midday prayers at his house. Mr. Khan remarked, “I saw a thick plume of smoke coming out of the house and everyone running towards the nearby nullah.”
After the rescuers arrived at the attack site, Sheraz Khan, the person in charge of Rescue 1122 station in Bisham, recounted the chaotic scenes. “The bus that had fallen into the ravine was on fire, and the area was covered in smoke,” he claimed. To extinguish the fires and remove the victims, the rescuers had to descend the ravine. Later, the bodies were moved to the hospital at the tehsil headquarters in Bisham.
According to Bakht Zahir Khan, the SHO for Bisham, the explosion was so powerful that it totally destroyed the vehicle. “We discovered a portion of it on surrounding trees, demonstrating the blast’s intensity,” he said. He claimed that the Chinese nationals on the other busses had been moved from the scene to safer locations.
At the THQ hospital in Bisham, Dr. Rehmat Ali, who works on the Dasu hydropower project, informed Dawn that five Chinese nationals—including a woman—were killed in the explosion. According to Mr. Ali, the driver’s body was sent to his town, the Pattan area of the Kohistan district, while the victims’ remains had been sent to Islamabad.
Following a comparable assault in 2021, Pakistan boosted the security measures for the Chinese nationals, and it was determined that they would journey in a convoy. On July 14, 2021, a suicide explosion that targeted their car claimed the lives of nine Chinese and four Pakistanis.
Work on the dam has been put on hold.
Following the incident, colleagues grieved over the unfortunate fate of the five engineers and their driver, and progress on the Dasu project was put on hold.
The Chinese engineers and their Pakistani counterparts did not show up for night hours or follow-up duty shifts to show their sadness for the deaths of their colleagues in an attack earlier in the day, Dawn was informed by official sources.
Irfanullah Mehsud, deputy commissioner of Upper Kohistan, told Dawn that “the multilayer security of the Chinese national executing the Dasu dam, and the residential campus has further enhanced following the suicidal attack on engineers of one of the flagship energy projects of Sino-Pak friendship.”
“Curse the offenders”
Beijing responded strongly to the suicide bombing by requesting that Islamabad take legal action against those responsible. In a statement, the embassy stated, “The Chinese Embassy and Consulates General in Pakistan vehemently denounce this terrorist act, offer our sincere condolences to the victims and bereaved families, and are making every effort to handle the aftermath together with the Pakistani side.”
It stated that a “emergency plan” had been initiated right away, asking Pakistan to look into the attack in great detail and punish those responsible severely. The Chinese mission in Pakistan was reportedly taking “all necessary measures to protect” Chinese nationals, institutions, and projects in Pakistan, according to the statement.
PM goes to the embassy
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and members of his cabinet paid a visit to the Chinese embassy shortly after the bombing, assuring Beijing that its citizens would be secure and promising a thorough investigation into the suicide bombing.
PM Shehbaz asked the Chinese envoy to convey his condolences to the premier, the president of China, and the families of the deceased as soon as he arrived at the embassy to offer his condolences. But he promised the envoy that a top investigator would look into the explosion.
“We will not allow such heinous endeavors to sabotage the friendship between Pakistan and China to succeed. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s adversaries have made another pitiful attempt to sabotage it, but their nefarious schemes will never be realized.
The prime minister was commended by the Chinese ambassador for his visit to the embassy and his personal interest in the incident’s inquiry. The PM’s traveling interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, also promised a thorough investigation into the blast.
The army accuses “foreign elements”
The Pakistan Army’s media branch said in a similar statement that the event was intended to damage relations between China and Pakistan. The Gwadar and Turbat attacks, among other recent instances, were allegedly planned to destabilize the nation, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“In an intentional attempt to impede our advancement and sow discord between Pakistan and its strategic allies and partners, most notably China, strategic projects and sensitive sites vital for Pakistan’s economic progress and the well-being of its people are being targeted,” the statement said.
The army, without naming any country, blamed ‘foreign elements’ for aiding and abetting terrorism in Pakistan. It, however, pointed out that the “elements patronising terrorism in Pakistan were being continuously exposed”.
“We will make sure that everyone who has helped terrorism, whether directly or indirectly, is held accountable and receives their just desserts with the steadfast support of the strong nation and our unshakable ally China. It added, “Together, we shall triumph over evil and adversity.”
Condemnations
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his profound sadness and grief over the deaths and denounced the attack on the Chinese nationals in Bisham.
The Foreign Office reaffirmed its determination to prosecuting the offenders. The foes of the friendship between China and Pakistan planned today’s attack. FO declared, “We will act resolutely against all such forces and defeat them.”
The attack on the Chinese convoy was also denounced by US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a news briefing. “We are extremely saddened by the injuries and fatalities. We extend our sincere sympathies to the victims of the tragedy. Terrorists have caused enormous suffering to the people of Pakistan. I see that there have been terrorist attacks on PRC citizens in Pakistan as well, and no nation should have to endure such atrocities,” he remarked.
