Bus explosion in Pakistan kills 13, including Chinese; Beijing accuses the bomb

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By Jibran Ahmad, Yew Lun Tian

PESHAWAR, Pakistan / BEIJING (Reuters) – A bus explosion killed 13 people in northern Pakistan on Wednesday, including nine Chinese nationals in what Beijing called a bomb attack, but Islamabad called a vehicle breakdown .

Two Pakistani soldiers were also among the dead after the explosion sent the bus over a ravine, local government and police sources told Reuters.

Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have been working for several years on hydroelectric projects as part of the Beijing Belt and Road Initiative in the western province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa, where the explosion occurred.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has confirmed that nine of its nationals have died. Calling the explosion a bomb attack without giving further details, China’s foreign ministry offered condolences and called for both a thorough investigation and the protection of its staff and projects.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said a mechanical failure caused gas to leak which led to the explosion.

However, the province’s top police official, Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari, earlier told Reuters that foul play was suspected. Looks like sabotage, he said.

A senior administrative official in the Hazara region, who asked to remain anonymous, said the bus was carrying more than 30 Chinese engineers to the Dasu Dam in Upper Kohistan.

BILLION INVESTMENT

The Dasu hydropower project is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $ 65 billion investment plan to link western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar.

This is clearly an act of terrorism that has been carefully planned and has been substantiated by information, said an editorial in the Global Times, a Chinese tabloid run by the official Peoples Daily of the ruling Communist Party, calling it a most serious attack against Chinese nationals in recent years. .

Chinese working in Pakistan have already been attacked, particularly in the southwestern province of Balochistan where separatist militants have led an insurgency against authorities in a state where China is developing mines and a port.

The separatists also attacked the Chinese consulate in the southern city of Karachi. In addition, Islamist activists have also already targeted Chinese nationals.

Using an air ambulance, rescuers took the injured, including Chinese engineers, to a hospital in Dasu, about 10 km (6 miles) from the blast site, authorities said.

Police and the demining team are on site, regional official Arif Khan Yousufzai added outside the hospital, adding that an investigation was awaited to determine the details.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it is in close contact with the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, adding in a statement: Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of nationals, projects and institutions Chinese.

Reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Syed Raza Hassan in Karachi and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Additional reporting by Reuters TV; Written by Gibran Peshimam and Umar Farooq; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Cawthorne

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