Enemies of Pak-China friendship will never be spared, vows Bilawal
Says suicide attack at KU was carried out using Baloch rights as ‘excuse’
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Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has declared that the government will never spare the enemies of Pakistan-China friendship as “it’s our tradition to take care of our friends”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a condolence reference held in Islamabad on Saturday in connection with the recent killing of Chinese nationals in a terrorist attack at Karachi University, Bilawal Bhutto said “We are very sad on the deaths of the Chinese citizens in this terrorist incident. The sacrifices of Pakistanis and Chinese for friendship will not go in vain.”
The foreign minister maintained that the Chinese are Pakistan’s guests and their security is our responsibility. “Everyone is aware of Pakistan-China friendship, and Islamabad and Beijing will jointly tackle challenges,” he added.
Reiterating the country’s resolve to arrest the perpetrators of the Karachi University blast, Bilawal said that the attack on the Chinese nationals was carried out using the rights of Baloch as an “excuse”.
“We will not rest until we arrest the perpetrators of the attack,” he said, adding “These [deceased Chinese nationals] were dedicated and loving teachers; Mr Huang, Ms Ding, and Ms Chen pursuing the noble mission to educate our students in the Chinese language and building bridges between our two people. They come from China with different backgrounds and ages for a common cause and unflinching desire to serve the timeless friendship between the people of Pakistan and the people of China.”
“Their driver also laid down his life in the line of duty that day,” he added.
Condemning the incident, Bilawal averred the country would never forgive the enemies of both countries’ all-weather strategic cooperation and it would not allow anyone to harm the “iron-clad friendship”. The sacrifices would not go in vain, he said, adding: “We will cherish the sacrifices and honour that have enabled us to forge a community of shared future in the new era.”
The foreign minister vowed to do “whatever in the government’s capacity” to ensure the safety and maximum security of the Chinese in Pakistan. Describing them as guests, the PPP chairman said the country was determined to ensure their safety and comfort.
Offering condolences to the bereaved families, Bilawal said: “We will not rest until we have given exemplary punishment to the perpetrators of this heinous attack.”
He reiterated that the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership is time-tested and timeless and Islamabad and Beijing would face the challenges together and come out of it even stronger.
"I know that every Pakistani is proud of our hospitality and gives importance to caring for friends. Not only do we know this [but] we're also known for this internationally. Neither a Sindhi Pakistani nor a Baloch Pakistani can ever tolerate the terrorism that is directed at our guests."
In the last decade, Pakistanis saw that citizens were targeted using religion, he said, iterating that Baloch rights were used as an "excuse" for carrying out the terror attack at the university. "These people left their homes to come here and educate our people. This attack happened not only on those individuals but on Pakistan-China friendship as well. Now, it is the responsibility of every Pakistani to proceed on this issue as if it was an attack on our own brothers and sisters.
"Together, we have to ensure that we do not tolerate such terror attacks. We will ensure that the families of these people and our public get justice."
The country would succeed in its fight against terrorism and show the world that those who believed that they could attack Pakistan-China friendship would not succeed, he pledged.
On April 26, a woman, later identified as Shari Baloch, detonated herself as a van carrying staff members was about to enter the Confucius Institute at the Karachi University. The dead were identified as Chinese nationals — Confucius Institute Director Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng and Chen Sai. The fourth victim was the van's driver, Khalid. The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility.