ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Wednesday it condemned an attack on two Saudi oil pumping stations by bomb-carrying drones on Tuesday, just days after four Saudi tankers were attacked at anchor off the UAE coast.
Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid A. Al-Falih said the attack had caused a fire, which was contained, and minor damage at one pump station, but did not disrupt oil output or exports of crude and petroleum products.
Saudi Aramco later confirmed the attack in a statement, stating that it had “responded to a fire at East West Pipeline Pump station 8 which was caused by a sabotage incident using armed drones which targeted pump stations 8 and 9.”
“Pakistan strongly condemns the drone attacks on oil pumping stations in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday,” the foreign office said in a statement. “Pakistan expresses its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reiterates its full support against any threat to stability and security of the Kingdom.”
The statement said Pakistan condemned “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reaffirms its commitment for continued efforts and cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the International community for its elimination.”
Pakistan condemns drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities
Pakistan condemns drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities
- Foreign Office reiterates “full support against any threat to stability and security of the Kingdom”
- Tuesday’s attack on two oil pumping stations by bomb-carrying drones caused a fire, now contained
Pakistan compensates families of victims in Islamabad mosque suicide attack claimed by Daesh
- Pakistan is paying compensation totalling more than $700,000 to the families of 40 people killed
- Attack was deadliest in capital since 2008 truck bombing that killed 60 people at Marriott Hotel
Pakistan is paying compensation totalling more than $700,000 to the families of 40 people killed in a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad this month, the prime minister’s office said on Thursday.
The February 6 attack claimed by the Daesh group on the outskirts of the capital was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 truck bombing that killed 60 people at the Marriott Hotel.
“Relief cheques have been delivered to the heirs of 36 martyrs belonging to Islamabad,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said in a statement, adding each victim’s family received five million rupees (around $17,800).
Cheques will also be delivered to four families of victims living outside Islamabad, the statement said.
Although officials have not released a final death toll, the statement marked the first official acknowledgement that 40 people were killed in the blast.
The suicide attack occurred during Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority nation, but Shiites make up between 10 and 15 percent of the population and have been targeted in attacks throughout the region in the past.
The last major attack in Islamabad took place in November when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people and wounded dozens, the first such incident to hit the capital in nearly three years.
The bombings come as Pakistan’s security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in southern and northern provinces that border Afghanistan.
Last year, militant assaults killed 1,235 people — including 825 security personnel and 400 civilians — with 27 suicide attacks reported nationwide and 2,597 militants killed.
