LAHORE (Web Desk) – Disciplinary action would be taken against the Hazara regional police officer (RPO) as well as other officials over their failure to thwart the Shangla terror attack, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at the PML-N’s Model Town headquarters, Tarar said the action was being taken on the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the light of the inquiry committee report.
The prime minister was himself looking into the security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan at different development projects, he said.
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According to Tarar, other officials against whom the charge of failure to perform their duties had been proven in the inquiry report included district police officers (DPOs) of Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan, Dasu Hydropower Project director security and the chief of Special Security Unit.
The abovementioned officials showed negligence and such practices won’t be tolerated in future, the information minister made it clear and added that the government was fully focused on dealing with the efforts to create law and order situation in the country.
Five Chinese nationals were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was attacked near Bisham – a town located in Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – last month.
A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of engineers which was on its way from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, Mohammad Ali Gandapur, the regional police chief [DIG Malakand], said.
"Five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack," Gandapur told Reuters.
Dasu – the headquarters of Upper Kohistan district – is the site of a major dam and the area had been attacked in the past. A blast on a bus had killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals, in 2021.
As China pressed Pakistan for severely punish those involved in the Shangla terror attack, Shehbaz Sharif convened an emergency meeting to discuss the matters related to the security of Chinese working in the country on different projects.
During the meeting, the civil and military leadership expressed resolute commitment on Wednesday to completely eradicate terrorism from the country.
Reacting to the barbaric attack, the Chinese embassy in a statement had strongly condemned the terrorist attack and said they were making every effort to handle the aftermath together with the Pakistani side.
Soon after the attack, the prime minister rushed to the Chinese embassy in Islamabad and promised blanket security for the Chinese nationals as well as a comprehensive probe into the suicide bombing.
He said the government would not the nefarious attempts to undermine the relations between the two countries and sabotage the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Similarly, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the series of incidents over the past few days, including the Gwadar and Turbat attacks, were aimed at destabilising the country and cited the role of foreign elements in fuelling terrorism in Pakistan.
An ISPR statement read, “With the unwavering support of the resilient nation and our iron-clad ally China, we will ensure that all those involved in aiding terrorism, directly or indirectly, are held accountable and find their due comeuppance. Together we will prevail over adversity and evil.”
Later, the prime minister vowed to make fool-proof security measures for the Chinese nationals working at the Dasu Hydropower Project as well as other ventures across the country and to give exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the March 26 terror attack.
Addressing a gathering of the Chinese nationals working on the power project in Dasu, he said the suicide bombing was a cowardly act designed to damage the exceptional friendship between Pakistan and China.