Pakistan and China agreed to complete the investigation into the Dasu bus accident as soon as possible. At least a dozen people – nine Chinese nationals and four Pakistanis – were killed after some sort of explosion in K-P’s Kohistan district.
Pakistani authorities have made conflicting comments on the incident, with political leaders referring to it as a “cowardly attack”, while the Foreign Office made it out to be a car accident owing to a mechanical failure. Chinese sources have consistently referred to it as a “bombing” and an attack.
It was later learnt that an explosive-laden car rammed into one of two buses carrying Chinese workers. Though the bomb was not detonated with full force, the driver of the second bus tried to swerve, lost control and the vehicle plunged into a ravine.
After the incident, the Chinese firm working on the Dasu Hydropower Project has stopped work on the site citing “security concerns”. The Dasu Hydropower Project includes the construction of a 4,320MW hydropower plant on the Indus River in Kohistan.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has informed that the investigation into Dasu bus incident was in final stage. A 15-member team of Chinese investigators had also arrived and visited the incident site with security agency officials.
This is not the first attack on a Chinese target in the country. In the past, Chinese projects and staff have been targeted at multiple sites across the country. However, the Foreign Office has repeatedly said that “Pakistan attaches great importance to safety and security of Chinese nationals”, the fact is that they keep getting attacked.
With the region on the brink of chaos as foreign forces exit Afghanistan, Pakistan desperately needs an iron friend like China and that is why miscreants are fomenting terrorism to disrupt Pak-China relations. At present, peace in the region is at stake and miscreants have launched operations to weaken Pakistan internally and externally.
The ruling government need to step up security or else such terrorist attacks could take Pakistan back to the era of uncertainty and strife.
