Pakistan asserted on Tuesday that the attack on a convoy of Chinese engineers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March, resulting in the deaths of five Chinese nationals, was orchestrated from Afghanistan.
"The March suicide bombing connects to Afghanistan. The planning of this terror act was done in Afghanistan. Terrorists and their facilitators were also being controlled from Afghanistan and the suicide bomber was also an Afghan [national]," said InterServices Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Maj-Gen Ahmed while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.
A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers on March 26 who was working on a hydropower project in Dasu, located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This attack claimed the lives of five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver.
“The explosives-laden vehicle used in the attack was also prepared in Afghanistan and sent to Pakistan. When the network [that carried out the attack] was exposed, its central characters like Adil Shahbaz, Zahid Qureshi, Nazir Hussain and another one of their companions were arrested” he asserted.
This incident marked the third significant assault within a little over a week on Chinese interests in Pakistan. China has heavily invested in the nation's infrastructure projects, with investments exceeding $65 billion as part of its Belt and Road initiative.
These attacks occurred amid a recent uptick in militant violence in Pakistan, which the government, although without presenting evidence, has attributed primarily to Afghans.
The Taliban** government in Kabul has denied allegations of permitting anti-Pakistan militants to operate from Afghan soil.
During a press briefing, military representative Ahmed Sharif vehemently denounced the actions and reassured that steps were underway to apprehend the facilitators.
“There is solid evidence of TTP terrorists using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan,” he noted.
Nevertheless, the DG ISPR emphasized that the government was actively enhancing the security measures for Chinese workers, aiming to make them "fool-proof."
He stressed that the assaults on Chinese workers were intended to sabotage Pakistan's economic interests and its longstanding strategic ties with ally Beijing.
*banned terrorist group
**under UN sanctions