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A suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan has rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle on Tuesday, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, police and government officials said. (Image: AP Photo)
Police report reveals vehicle carrying Chinese engineers in Pakistan attack was not bullet or bomb-proof. Safety concerns arise for Chinese nationals
The vehicle carrying Chinese engineers, who were killed in a suicide attack last month in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was neither bullet nor bomb-proof, according to a report.
A vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted the convoy of Chinese engineers in the remote Besham area of the restive northwest province when they were being driven to a construction site of the Dasu Hydroelectric power station on March 26. Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. A female engineer was among the five Chinese nationals killed in the attack, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the police report.
The police report, which has been sent to the federal government, said that the bus targeted in the attack was travelling at a distance of 15 feet from the other bus and fell into a 300-feet-deep ditch after the suicide bomber crashed his explosives-laden vehicle into the vehicle carrying the victims on the Karakoram Highway, Pakistan media reported on Sunday.
‘Neither bullet nor bomb-proof’
The report said that the vehicle carrying Chinese nationals was neither bullet nor bomb-proof. The report, the second of its kind, added that the buses part of the convoy carrying Chinese nationals was equipped with close circuit television cameras (CCTV). The development comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered disciplinary action against senior police officers for “negligence” in light of an inquiry report over the incident.
“The prime minister has directed to take action against the regional police officer (RPO) Hazara Division; district police officer of Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan; director security, Dasu Hydropower Project and commandant special security unit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 15 days,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
On Friday, Sharif directed all Pakistani security agencies to ensure foolproof security arrangements for the Chinese nationals working on various projects in the country. Meanwhile, China has also expressed concern about last Tuesday’s attack and demanded the safety of their nationals working on various projects in Pakistan.
Thousands of Chinese personnel are working in Pakistan on several projects under the aegis of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Last week, Geo News reported the “arrest” of more than 10 terrorists and facilitators involved in the deadly attack. Citing sources, it said that the terrorist commander responsible for bringing the suicide bomber to Pakistan from Afghanistan has also been arrested as well as four other facilitators.
(With agency inputs)
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