China seeks safety reassurance from Pakistan after terror attack on Chinese nationals

After nine Chinese nationals were killed last week near Pakistan's Das hydroelectric dam in a terror attack, China urged Islamabad to identify security risks being faced by Chinese personnel in the country.

China's State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi discussed in a phone call on Saturday with Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed the recent terror attack in which nine Chinese nationals died in Pakistan, reported China Daily.

Zhao said the Chinese government had paid a great deal of attention to the attack on Chinese personnel on Wednesday.

According to a continuing investigation and information from Pakistan, there had been a terrorist attack against Chinese personnel in the country, Zhao said.

China strongly condemned any organization and personnel that carried out the atrocity, he said, adding that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security had sent criminal investigators to Pakistan to help with the investigation.

Zhao said he hoped China and Pakistan would work together to find out who was responsible for the attack, track them down and severely punish them.

He urged Pakistan to identify security risks facing Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan, fix loopholes, strengthen the country's early-warning system and security measures, and do its utmost to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel to prevent similar attacks from happening again, reported China Daily.

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic cooperative partners, Zhao said, and he trusted that law enforcement departments of both countries would further strengthen the building of mechanisms for collaboration and work more closely together for the benefit of both sides.

After persistent attacks on Chinese nationals, now Pakistan has to convince Beijing that it can protect Chinese infrastructure and citizens from the terrorist groups when it has failed to protect its own.

( With inputs from ANI )