BEIJING: Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi urged Pakistan to investigate a blast on a bus that killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, but stopped short of calling it an attack, according to a post on Thursday on the foreign ministry’s website.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson called the Wednesday blast a bomb attack later that day but Pakistan said a mechanical failure caused a gas leak that led to the explosion.
The blast sent the bus crashing into a ravine in Khyber-Paktunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan where Chinese engineers have for several years been working on hydroelectric projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
China is a close ally and major investor in Pakistan and various militants fighting the Pakistani state have in the past attacked Chinese projects.
Wang told Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that if it was indeed a “terrorist attack,” and Pakistan should immediately arrest the culprits and punish them severely, according to the Chinese ministry’s summary of a meeting they had in Dushanbe on Wednesday.
Wang, who is China’s State Councillor and foreign minister, said “lessons should be learned” and both sides should further strengthen security measures for China-Pakistan cooperation projects to ensure their safe and smooth operation.
The two spoke in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on the sidelines of a foreign ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
China foreign minister urges Pakistan to investigate bus blast that killed 9 Chinese
https://arab.news/y4ujj
China foreign minister urges Pakistan to investigate bus blast that killed 9 Chinese
- A blast on a bus killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers, on Wednesday in northwest Pakistan
- Pakistan blamed it on a mechanical failure, Chinese foreign minister calls it “terrorist attack“
At least five killed as massive fire guts dozens of shops at Pakistan mall — rescue official
- More than 20 fire trucks were busy dousing the fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza
- The cause of the fire, which injured 15 people, was not immediately known
ISLAMABAD: A massive fire tore through a multi-story shopping mall in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi late Saturday and killed at least five people, rescue officials said.
Firefighters and rescue workers rushed to Gul Plaza in Karachi’s Saddar business district upon receiving information about the blaze at around 10pm, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesman.
Television footage showed firefighters in protective gear battling the flames as several fire trucks used ladders, water cannons and hoses to douse the building’s floors, where flames shot out of windows and balconies.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
“More than 20 fire brigade trucks, water bowsers and snorkels are present at the scene and additional firefighting resources have been called in,” the spokesman said early Sunday.
“Over 20 people were injured in the fire and the death toll has now reached five.”
Police said an investigation would be launched once the blaze was extinguished. However, most structures in Karachi, and other parts of the country, lack fire prevention and firefighting systems, which often result in damages and casualties.
Authorities said the fire spread rapidly after erupting in an area of the mall where shopkeepers had stored imported garments, clothing and plastic household goods, which helped fuel the flames.
“Due to the old nature of the building, there is a risk of its collapse after being affected by the severe fire,” the Rescue 1122 spokesman said. “The operation is being carried out with extreme caution.”
Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province, where such incidents are common. In November 2023, a fire tore through a shopping mall in the city, killing 10 people and injuring 22 others.
