ISLAMABAD, 15 July 2021, TON: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi talked to his Chinese counterpart and told him that preliminary investigation into the bus tragedy near Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not a consequence of a terrorist attack. Earlier Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Council of Foreign Ministers in Dushanbe on Wednesday; Qureshi said the initial probe showed that the incident was not a terrorist attack. However, Yi stressed the immediate arrest of and severe punishment for perpetrators in case the incident was a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, Chinese Embassy Statement said, “At around 7 am on 14th July local time, a Chinese company's shuttle bus carrying working staff on the Dasu Hydropower Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province was hit by blast on its way to the construction site. Up to now, 9 Chinese citizens and 3 Pakistani citizens were unfortunately dead and some injured. Investigation to the incident is underway.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan launched the emergency plan immediately, contacted the Pakistani military, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and other relevant parties, and requested Pakistan to carry out rescue and treatment in the first place, and strengthen security protection for the Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in Pakistan , and investigate the incident thoroughly. The Pakistani military has instantly organized rescue and dispatched helicopters to transfer the injured.

The Chinese Embassy expresses its deep condolences to the victims and sympathy for the injured, and will do its best with Pakistan to properly deal with the aftermath.

The Chinese Embassy in Pakistan reminds Chinese citizens, enterprises, and projects in Pakistan to stay on alert, pay close attention to the local security situation, strengthen security protection, take strict precautions, and stop going out unless necessary.”