In a preliminary investigation into a bus blast that killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, Pakistan said on Thursday that traces of explosives were "verified" and that an act of terrorism could not be ruled out. Fawad Chaudhry, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, made his remarks a day after Pakistan and China, the all-weather allies, presented opposing viewpoints on the potential causes of the tragic accident.
While China described the incident as a bombing, Pakistan said the explosion was caused by a gas leak. The event occurred on Wednesday in the Dasu region of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province's Upper Kohistan district, where Chinese engineers and construction workers are assisting Pakistan in the building of a dam as part of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Pakistan bus blast killed 13, injured 36
When a bus bringing Chinese engineers and employees to the site of the under-construction Dassu Dam burst, at least 13 persons were killed and 39 others were injured, including nine Chinese nationals and two Frontier Corps soldiers. Following the explosion, the bus crashed into a steep ravine. China said on Thursday that it will send a special team to Pakistan to investigate the incident.
Pakistan said on Thursday that traces of explosives were discovered during an early inquiry into a bus blast, adding that a terrorist attack could not be ruled out. Beijing first claimed it was a bomb attack; but then, they backtracked and said it would send a team to assist with the investigation, Gulf News reported.
Pakistan first blamed a technical breakdown, but Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted on Thursday that "Initial investigations... have now confirmed traces of explosives. Terrorism cannot be ruled out." In Pakistan, China is a key friend and significant investor; and anti-Pakistani government terrorists have previously attacked Chinese projects.
The Chinese employees killed on the bus were workers at the Dasu hydropower project, a part of the $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which aims to connect western China to the southern Pakistani port of Gwadar.
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China called the incident an "attack"
Engineers and construction workers from China are assisting Pakistan in the construction of a dam in Kohistan. When the tragedy occurred, the Pakistani and Chinese construction workers were on their way to the project site, according to Arif Javed, a deputy district commissioner. The incident was described as an "attack" by the Chinese Embassy in a statement. According to AP News, road accidents are prevalent in Pakistan, as drivers frequently ignore traffic regulations and safety standards and drive on damaged roads, especially in the north's mountainous terrain.
Per SCMP, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that if the incident was a terrorist attack, the criminals should be apprehended right away. He also suggested that security measures for China-Pakistan cooperation projects be beefed up. However, as US forces withdraw from Afghanistan, Pakistan faces a greater threat of terrorist strikes.
Analysts say China's close ties with Pakistan, the location of many CPEC projects in troubled areas of the country; and its widely criticized policies toward Uygur Muslims in Xinjiang have made its citizens and projects targets for both the al-Qaeda-linked Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan rebels.
The majority of assaults have been carried out by militant Baloch separatists who have been at odds with Pakistan's government since 2006. By 2017, a force of 60,000 Pakistani militaries looked to have destroyed the split Baloch separatists; but they have subsequently resurfaced and joined forces under the Baloch Raaji Ajoi Sangar banner (Bras).
