China has supported Pakistan’s investigation into the March 26 suicide bomb attack on a Chinese engineer in Bhisham, saying eradicating terrorism is “in the interest of all countries.” Xinhua News Agency The news agency reported on Monday.
The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman’s reaction came a day after Pakistan blamed the attack on the leadership of the outlawed Afghanistan-based Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group and hostile foreign intelligence services.
Pakistan has called on Afghanistan to take action against terrorists operating on its territory, but the Chinese official’s remarks did not specifically name Kabul.
“China attaches great importance to the important progress made by the Pakistani side in investigating the terrorist attacks,” Mao Ning said at a news conference on Monday. “China supports Pakistan in continuing its efforts to uncover the truth and track down all perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
She said the two countries would “continue to work” to strengthen security cooperation and ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
Ning called terrorism “a common enemy of mankind and a threat to regional development and stability” and urged all countries to intensify efforts to eradicate terrorism.
“China calls on regional countries to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation, eradicate all terrorist organizations, eliminate their breeding grounds, and safeguard the common security and development interests of all countries.”
Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had demanded that the Afghan interim government arrest three suspected terrorists — Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Abdullah and Khan Lala — as well as TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, Malakand commander Azmatullah and all other leaders of the banned organisation for their alleged involvement in the attack.
“We want a good relationship with Afghanistan and for that it is important that they arrest these terrorists and either prosecute them or hand them over to us,” he said.
Published in Dawn on May 28, 2024
