China said it appreciates Pakistans efforts in investigating a terror attack that killed nine Chinese nationals in July in northern Pakistan, seemingly endorsing Islamabads claim that Islamic militants had carried it out allegedly at the behest of Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing firmly opposes any force using terrorism to seek geopolitical gains and calls on countries in the region to collaborate in eradicating all terrorist organisations so as to uphold common security and development interests of all countries.
An unattributed written question – also published on the ministry website — to which the Chinese foreign ministry responded, was, They (Pakistan) said that the planning for the terrorist attack was done in Afghanistan and the attack was executed by the Swat chapter of TTP. The attacker was trained in Afghanistan and the vehicle used in the attack was brought from Afghanistan to PakistanThe terrorist network the attacker is associated with has received support from Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies.
In its response, the Chinese foreign ministry added that Pakistans investigation into the terror attack has seen major progress in quick time.
China pays great attention to this and expresses appreciation to Pakistans active efforts. Further investigation by Pakistan is still ongoing, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement on Friday.
China and Pakistan will follow the important consensus reached by the leaders on both sides, ascertain all the facts and truth, and hold the culprits accountable and bring them to justice, she said.
In the meanwhile, both countries will keep strengthening security cooperation mechanisms to ensure the safety of Chinese projects, people and institutions in Pakistan, Hua added.
On Thursday, Pakistans foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed the deadly bus attack was a suicide bombing carried out by Islamist militants backed by Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies, according to a Reuters report.
An Indian government official said the charge was baseless and said Pakistan has made similar accusations repeatedly in the past, Reuters added.
On July 14, the bus carrying the Chinese workers on way to a dam construction site was hit by a blast in the district of Kohistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Top Pakistani officials including Qureshi and ISI chief Faiz Hameed had rushed to China days after the explosion.
After the incident, Chinese premier Li Keqiang had reportedly urged his Pakistani counterpart, Prime Minister Imran Khan, to hold accountable the culprits in what he described as a terrorist attack.